“Peace on earth, good will to all”?

As the holiday season approaches, it may be better to start a little closer to home. 

Now that Halloween is officially over, just about every store and online retailer will be hawking holiday decor and gifts. “Peace on earth, goodwill to all,” is a common theme on holiday cards, decor, and even songs. Many people don’t realize that it is a modern adaptation of the King James Bible verse Luke 2:14, which concludes the angelic proclamation to the shepherds that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. 

“Peace on earth, goodwill to all” is a nice idea, but in a world filled with war and political turmoil, it really seems like too lofty of a goal to even consider right now. However, what happens if we further adapt this Bible verse to make it more personal?

What if we could make it “Peace in me, and goodwill to those around me”?

“Peace in me, and goodwill to those around me” is the intent behind the often mis-quoted Mahatma Gandhi phrase, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  What Gandhi actually wrote in the Indian Opinion newspaper in 1913 was, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the supreme divine mystery...We need not wait to see what others do.”

This idea of focusing on what needs to be changed in ourselves first, before focusing on the outer world is also rooted in the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 7:5, Jesus said, “remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

As the holiday season approaches, it may be helpful to begin by asking, “What would bring me peace right now?”  This does not need to be some kind of grand, life-altering question! Rather, take a minute to look inward and ask, “What is one small action– or non-action– that I can do today to bring me more personal peace?” Maybe that is taking a 10-minute “power nap” before making dinner for your family. Maybe it is going outside for a 5-minute walk around the block. Maybe try reading a physical, paper book for 5 minutes in a quiet place. Or maybe it is skipping doing laundry today? Is there something on your “to-do” list for today that you can take off, which won’t cause future problems, but will give you a bit more personal peace today?

When we take the time to care for ourselves, we will have more capacity to share goodwill with those around us. We can adapt the phrase of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew a little further, “be loving to yourself first, then you will see clearly to love your brother.”  When we give ourselves the time and grace to be peaceful and loving to the self, then we have more peaceful and loving feelings to share with those people around us. 

For sure one person cannot bring “peace on earth, goodwill to all” this holiday season. However, one person can “change his own nature,” as Gandhi said, and thereby see “the attitude of the world change towards him.” Today, make it your goal to cultivate small, peaceful moments in your life, and you will be amazed to see how it spreads to those around you.