The Peace of Nature

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Hooray for summer! As we enjoy the trees, flowers, birds, rivers and streams, the beauties of nature offer us peace and joy in rich abundance. Whether we go for a walk in a park, stroll along a stream or a wildlife refuge, we experience greater serenity. This month my husband and I enjoyed nature in its glory and majesty. We visited the Grand Canyon and stared in awe at God's marvelous sculpture. As I soaked in the beauty, I remembered that masterpieces are not created overnight. God wants to mold our lives into something wonderful, but the process takes time, faith, and trust.





While we walked along a path by the canyon, we saw a flower clinging to the rocks. It reminded me that peace can be found amid challenging circumstances. As I observed that floral masterpiece, I celebrated the indominable spirit of those who choose joy and peace when bitterness and despair would be so easy.















We saw the spectacular scenery at Capitol Reef National Monument. Each of God's creations are breathtaking and magnificent. They enhance our reverence and awe for our Creator's power and artistry. As we reflect upon the beauties of the world, we can remember that we are His most precious masterpieces.















© Carol Brown

Changing the Script

Each day about 60,000 thoughts pass through our minds. Some enhance our peace of mind and some do not. If we can view our thoughts as we would a movie or a television show, we can discover which thoughts are promoting serenity and wholeness and which ones can be reframed.

Here are some powerful tools that help to retrain our minds when we discover our thoughts are not promoting peace:

• If you discover your thoughts are negative, move into a spirit of gratitude. Focus on five or six blessings that you truly appreciate and notice the change in your mood.

• If you are ruminating about a challenging or frustrating experience, instead ask yourself, “Why can I learn from this?”

• If you find yourselves thinking negatively about yourself or others, ask yourself, “Is this really true?” At the core, we are children of God. If we find ourselves condemning or belittling ourselves or others, we can remember that each of us are divine, magnificent creations.

• When we or others make a mistake, we can remind ourselves that no one is perfect, that we can learn from our mistakes and move forward. Focusing on our own or others’ faults keeps us from manifesting our strengths.

• If we feel overcome with a weakness, we can ask God to turn that shortcoming into a strength. Then, trust that He will help us do just that. Some of our greatest strengths can arise from the vulnerable, fragile parts of ourselves.

• If we view our thoughts like a movie, we become the director of our own minds. We can change the scene, move the characters, and rewrite the dialogue. We discover that we have the power to rewrite our script of thoughts in a positive, healing way.

Some thought patterns take time to change. Sometimes the more we resist negative thoughts, the more that stay. Instead of battling with our destructive thoughts, we can gently feel them, accept them, and then calmly release them, using the techniques I’ve described. Harmful thoughts are not true. Honest thoughts are peaceful, loving, and healing. They are the essence of who we truly are.

Learning to meditate and to channel our thoughts into a healing place is also very helpful. Our subconscious believes anything you tell it. Today, remind yourself that you a child of the divine, beautifully and wonderfully made. God loves you with an incomprehensible love. Allow Him to fill your heart and mind today with His unfathomable, all-powerful mercy, joy, and peace.


© Carol Brown

Focusing on the Positive

Brain research indicate that we remember negative experiences more vividly than positive ones and that we notice negative interactions more intensely that positive ones. For example, if you have a good day at work and your manager praises your work but your co-worker criticizes, what will you think about when you return home? If you’ve invited family members over for a special party, will you remember the 14 you came or the 2 who didn’t show up or call?

Because it’s easy to think about and remember the bad stuff that happens it our lives, we can retrain our brains so that we can experience greater peace of mind. We do this by allowing ourselves to feel negative emotions and then releasing these feelings. As we focus on the things that are going right in our lives, we can more easily ignore the things that are going wrong.

The great news is that the brain is constantly rebuilding itself. "The brain is not like a computer that has fixed wiring and connections," says neuroscientist Michael M. Merzenich, "Every aspect of you is created by the brain revising itself in response to your interactions in the world—and I mean everything. How you define yourself—the person you are—is a product of plastic changes in your brain. That includes things that relate to your attitude and your emotional construct. What you are is a result of how your brain has tried to create a model of the world, and the brain is plastic until you die."

Since our brains are constantly rebuilding themselves, we can retrain our minds to remember the good stuff. As we notice the negative things we are telling ourselves, we can reframe our thinking and remind ourselves that life isn’t as bad as we’re pretending it is. Sure, a couple of family members may have disappointed you, but 14 showed up with a lot of love and compassion. Perhaps a co-worker was surly, but your other co-workers and your boss respect your work and treat you well. As we focus on all the positive experiences in our lives, we can put the negative ones into better perspective.

Someone once said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they will never be bent out of shape.” We become more optimistic, forgiving, and peaceful when we choose thoughts that are accepting, patient, and merciful. We can’t change other people’s behavior, but we can change the way we react to it—and it all begins with our thoughts.


© Carol Brown

Be Kind, for Everyone You Meet Is Fighting a Hard Battle

Each one of us yearns to be treated kindly. We long to be validated, respected, and cherished. It is an innate human need to feel loved, yet it is also a natural human tendency to be unkind, selfish, and rude, especially when we feel threatened, tired, or frustrated.

In 2007, Rev. Will Bowen of Christ’ Church in Missouri challenged his congregation to go 21 days without complaining. He passed out purple wristbands and urged his followers to wear them. If they griped, gossiped, or criticized someone, they were asked to move the wristband to the other arm. Rev. Bowen confessed that it took him almost four months before the wristband remained on his right arm every single day. The movement has caught hold, and Rev. Bowen has received requests for over 6,200,000 wristbands, which have been processed on his Web site, www.acomplaintfreeworld.org.

Imagine living in a world in which people spoke with kindness and love to everyone. Imagine homes, businesses, institutions, communities, and countries where people speak with courtesy and respect to everyone—even those who are difficult to love. Experts say that one person who is kind influences the lives of hundreds of others for good. Imagine the rippling effect of one percent of the world’s population practicing radical kindness.

Everyone you meet carries a heavy burden—or will someday. People struggle with health challenges, financial pressures, insecurity, loss, and thousands of other challenges. Everyone deserves kindness—including ourselves.

I have discovered that when I am critical and condemning of myself, I tend to be more critical of others. As we show kindness to ourselves, we experience greater peace of mind and can then radiate that peace to others. Peace, the highest form of joy, is contagious.

We cannot change other people, but through loving kindness, we can inspire others to be a little kinder, to do a little better. I love this statement by Stephan Grellet, “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”


© Carol Brown

God's Infinite Love for Us

I visited my parents’ graves yesterday. As I thought about their many acts of service, their love for God, and their love for others, I praised God for these wonderful parents. My dad’s been gone for 42 years, my mom for 11. How I miss them!

I’ve sat with a number of dying friends and family members. When they reached the end of their journeys, they didn’t care about how much stuff they’d accumulated or how much they’d accomplished. Instead, they cared deeply about their relationship with God and with their family and friends. After all, that’s all we can take with us when we leave this world and enter the next.

God is preparing a mansion for those who love and honor Him. All He asks is that we follow Him, and if we chose to do so, He will give us everything He has. He asks for so little from us and offers unimaginable blessings in return.

John saw that after Christ returns to the earth, a great multitude was praising God and worshiping Him. One of the elders asked him, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

He answered, “Sir, you know.”

And the elder said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

When our days are difficult, we can remember that someday God will wipe away all our tears. He waits to comfort us now, to give us peace even when life is hard. May you feel His infinite love today.

Reflect on the love letter he wrote to us years ago:

Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!

For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.’

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.”

© Carol Brown

Ten Rules for Happier Living

Ten Rules for Happier Living


1. Give something away (no strings attached).

2. Do a kindness (and forget it).

3. Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance).

4. Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel).

5. Laugh often (it is life's lubricant).

6. Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough).

7. Pray (or you will lose the way).

8. Work (with vim and vigor).

9. Plan as though you will live forever (because you will).

10. Live as though you will die tomorrow (because you will die on some tomorrow).

(author unknown)

© Carol Brown

The Peace of Loving Ourselves

For every person who is vain, arrogant, and proud, there are many who do not truly love themselves. (And, many proud folks aren't doing a terrific job of loving themselves as well.)

How often do you say to yourself: "If only I were...smarter, thinner, more successful, more clever, wiser, kinder, etc."? We usually compare ourselves to someone who is at his or her best or do a fictitious ideal, someone who does not even exist, and then we wonder why we don't measure up. When we compare ourselves with others, we will not experience true peace.

You may feel that the thought of truly loving yourself is impossible. But if you know how to love others, you have the capacity to love yourself. The secret is to love ourselves with the same love that we willingly share with our dearest friends and family members.

Jack Kornfield writes that the Babemba tribe in Africa gather together in a special meeting if someone in their tribe has done something reckless. In his book The Art of Forgiveness , Kornfield writes:

"Then each person in the tribe speaks to the accused, one at a time, each recalling the good things the person in the center of the circle has done is his lifetime. Every incident, every experience that can be recalled with any detail and accuracy, is recounted. All his positive attributes, good deeds, strengths, and kindnesses are recited carefully and at length."

Sometimes the meeting can go on for days. When the ceremony is finished, everyone celebrates and embraces the person as he returns to full membership in the tribe. Imagine the healing that occurs when one who has hurt others is healed by the loving words of his friends and family.

Imagine how we would feel if we repeated that ceremony on our own lives. When we mess up, instead of berating ourselves, imagine how we would feel if we remembered the good things we have done. Eventually, we can learn to replace critical voices in our minds with kind voices. This may take time and effort, but we will experience greater peace as we treat ourselves more gently.

Of course, this kind of mercy does not mean that we should go out and be our worst self and then instantly forgive ourselves. Instead, loving ourselves means that after we do our best, we turn away from our mistakes, asking for forgiveness when appropriate, and turn towards loving ourselves.

Each of us is a unique, one-of-a-kind, miraculous creation. We are created in God’s image. We are His children. Loving ourselves means not only remember who we are but what we can become. It means exchanging pain for peace, self-loathing for self-loving, criticism for kindness. As we begin to truly love ourselves, we open our hearts to receive the joy, happiness, and peace that God waits to give us.

For a few moments, reflect on the love that a caring parent feels for his or her child. Then try to multiply that love a million, billion, trillion times over. That is an infinitesimal amount of the love that God feels for you. Father John O”Donohue said, “May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.”


© Carol Brown

Be Kind to Yourself

Thomas Kempis said, “First keep peace with yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.” We experience inner peace when we show kindness and compassion to ourselves, yet sometimes we are kinder to others than we are to ourselves. As we treat ourselves with mercy and gentleness, it becomes easier to treat others that way.

Notice the things you say to yourself throughout the day. How often do you criticize yourself? How quick are you to blame yourself for innocent mistakes?

This morning I scolded myself for driving through mud after getting my car washed yesterday. I stopped the negative self-talk when I remembered that because of road construction near our home, I had no other choice than to drive along a dirty road to get to the grocery store. Even if there was no road construction near our home, when I chose to blame myself for being human I moved from a place of love into a place of fear.

During the past week I’ve heard many of my friends and family members blame themselves for mistakes they did not make. My daughter, Melanie, a nurse, told me how frustrated she was when she was caring for a sick neighbor and did not take her to the hospital as quickly as the neighbor needed to go. The part of the story she needed to remember was they her neighbor, also a nurse, refused to go to the hospital. I reminded her that she had done the very best she could do under the circumstances. In fact, when Melanie and her doctor-husband, Chris, took their neighbor to the emergency room that night, they saved the woman’s life.

Whenever we find ourselves saying “I should have…..(taken my neighbor to the doctor sooner) or” I would have…..(prevented suffering and medical complications if I had taken my neighbor to the doctor sooner), we are not being kind to ourselves. Most of us do this far too often, but as we learn to monitor our thinking patterns, we can replace critical thoughts with compassionate ones.

Sometimes we need a loving friend to remind us to do this. However, we can also become a loving friend to ourselves and remind ourselves that we are doing the best we can with the knowledge and experience that we have. If you are tempted to berate yourself, replace that thought with something positive. Remind yourself that you are a incredible human being who is created in the image of God. Express love to yourself for the good things you are doing. Be bold. Tell yourself, “I love you. I love you unconditionally. I am perfectly and wonderfully made."

If you make a serious mistake, make amends, ask for God’s forgiveness, and then forgive yourself. Show yourself the same mercy that God shows you. Don’t dwell on your past mistakes. Instead, give yourself the same compassion that you would give your dearest friend.

Think of the many ways you can show kindness to yourself. Develop a talent. Take good care of your body. Learn something new. Do something you enjoy, whether it’s taking a nature walk, soaking in a hot tub, or reading a good book. Spend a few moments each day loving God and feeling His love for you. Write down a list of the good things you have done in your life and refer to that list if you are feeling sad.

As we fill up our own reservoirs of love and kindness, we can then radiate that love to others. "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." (George Washington Carver)


© Carol Brown