As I continue to embark on my quest for peace, I have been thinking about the ingredients of peace. The ingredients of peace are much like reading a recipe. When we follow a recipe, we know that we have to include all of the ingredients or the end result will not be what we want. We also know that we have to put the correct amount of each ingredient in so that the recipe we are following turns out like we intend.

One of the key ingredients to peace is very simple and something that we all talk about and are even obsessed with, and that is love. We use the word love to mean so many things. We love our homes, we love our collections, we love our friends, we love our pets, we love our children, and we love our spouse. It is funny how one little word can mean so much and be used to describe one of the most powerful emotions that we can feel. It is easy to love the people who are special to us, but it is harder to love the people who are not very lovable. I heard someone say once that the most unlovable people are the ones who need love the most. This is very hard for me to remember at times, and I am sure it is hard for you to remember too.

My grandma had the ability to love the unlovable. She had a sense about people, and she could read them. She often found herself being drawn to people who others would deem as unlovable. I used to worry about her doing this, and I was often afraid that harm would come to her because she would put herself in situations where she was in the company of people who others would turn their backs on. Looking back on it now, I realize that this was part of her calling. She was drawn to these people because she had the ability to see beyond their rough, grumpy, and sometimes displeasing exteriors and could see the goodness of their spirits. Her attention and acceptance would many times bring out the best in these people, and they would be more positive and happier because of the attention and love that she gave them. When it came to the commandment “love thy neighbor,” my grandma took it to heart, and she truly tried to live her life doing this. She touched countless lives with this love, and I know that the effects of her love are still felt by many people. It was a life altering kind of love and a kind of love that I aspire to have for my fellowman one day. My grandma was able to love in spite of the wrongs that were done to her. She was able to love even when the world would have told her to stop, and she was able to love when others would have been unable to do so. My grandma had peace in her life because of that love. She understood that love was an important ingredient to peace and it served her well.

So the next time you encounter a person or are faced with a situation that is difficult and is causing you to have less peace in your life than you want, remember my grandma and the countless others like her who love in the face of hate and who love not because it is easy, but because it is the right thing to do. The people who love when everyone else turns their backs are the people who have true peace in their lives. It is a peace that will change their lives, the lives of the people they encounter, and eventually the world. It is that powerful! We should all try a little harder to pepper our lives with more love. When we do, we will enjoy the savory sensation of peace in our lives and PEACE MATTERS!

~Dan~

Today, I am sharing my collection of firkins, measures, and pantry boxes with all of you. I hope you enjoy them and that they inspire you to continue to look for things that fill your life with more peace.