We become so accustomed to living stress filled days that it may seem abnormal to exist any other way.  After all, it is admittedly a stress filled world with life and death, good and evil, wins and losses.  How can we live and be happy without being trapped by one side or the other?

The first step is to think early on, “what kind of day do I want?”  Do I want a day of peace or conflict?  A day of love or hate?  If we want a day of peace, we can remind ourselves to practice constant forgiveness and the desire to give up our many judgments. 

We live in a world of opposites and the idea that we are all One in Spirit is quickly forgotten or discarded, even if known.  I define myself as Democrat, Republican, Liberal or Conservative, Independent or Libertarian, gay or straight, and on and on.  Thus we set ourselves up for a day or life of judgment, of being judgmental.  We set ourselves up for a day filled with anger and frustration.

Jesus is said to have taught, “Judge not that you be not judged.”  And further, “with the judgment you give others, it will be given to you.”  A very radical and tough assignment if one ponders it.  Yet we live in the opposite mode and those in organized religions often judge and condemn as harsh as any.  Jesus recognized it was impossible to correctly judge on this world level.

To have a day of peace we then first give up our judging minds and accept every person as our brother or sister in Spirit.  We see we are united with our Creator and we are one with every aspect of creation.  In so doing, we begin down the road experiencing unlimited power and peace. 

Of course, this experience of deeper peace doesn’t come by judging the forms presented to us.  Forms and sights with eyes are transient and temporal; like our bodies and minds, they come and they go.  And we become caught so quickly in these judgments.  It’s easy to forget our identities.  It’s easy to take the world of judgments seriously like our ego centered bodies.

Forgive the world and let it be what it is and discover the whole new world of Spirit and peace.  Feel it by practicing the letting go, the willingness to let “whatever” come and go, leaving you more deeply embedded in peace.  Practice being the observer, looking at the body and all its functions with the “third eye.”

Do I still work to change the world, to correct the wrongs and unfairness as I see them?  Yes, we work to satisfy hunger pains in our stomachs as well as others, to dress our bodies to look more presentable, to have people treated with respect and kindness, but we seeking not to get snarled in its impermanence.  We see the world around us differently, as transient and mortal.  We live in the world, "chopping wood and carrying water," yet remember on our deepest level, we are not part of it.  It is a world of death, of coming and going, of constant change.  Let it be then what it is, a world of time and dissolution. 

Practice self forgiveness for our thinking our beliefs, our judgments are true; there are no true judgments except in the practice of love and forgiveness.  To think otherwise is a prescription for a very rough and stressfull day.  Divine, eternal love is beyond description and definition.  It just is.  Unless you want to be right rather than happy, is there any other choice?  Yet, if we forget and slip back into damnation and judgment, it’s okay!  We are always forgiven.  The next instant is a holy one, a new day!  The past is gone; everything becomes new again!

What kind of day do I want, you want?  A day of peace and happiness, of remembering who I am, and accepting whatever happens in my transient world of bodies, apparent separations, and endless battles.  As parents, we watch children squabble and fight as they grow, and even afterwards.  As parents, we realize we can’t stop arguing and fighting by being constantly present and making rule enforcements.  Children, people must learn from within that such fighting is counter productive, and how quickly they do!  God the Creator gives us the same patience.  Like a gentle parent, He waits by the beds of our wildest and scariest dreams.  When we awaken, it’s okay.

Let us be quick to hold hands, and love, and be slow to damn, condemn and judge as unworthy.  In so doing, we overcome our own self-condemnation and projected unhappiness, and in finding unconditional love for ourselves, can extend it to others.  And soon our days become happier, more peaceful, and we find ourselves crying tears of joy rather than madness and anger.

What kind of day do I want?  A day when I need not worry and condemn, but through forgiveness, am happy!