I lay in bed and wrote my blog in my head this morning. Just fifteen more minutes, my sleepy mind cajoled. Oh come on, another five. Eventually, 15 + 5 equalled a half hour. When I did get out of bed, my blog had vanished with the dawn breaking over the prairies to the east.

Now, what was that thought? What were those thoughts of making a difference I so wanted to share?

In my grappling to remember my thinking, unease arose, discord rippled. Dang. Why didn’t I just get out of bed when I should have? Why didn’t I ignore the voice of slumber and awaken into my day when I was supposed to?

And in my discordant thinking and self-critical evaluation, my heart became unsettled. My thinking unclear.

I breathed. Deeply. I invited peace into my thinking. Let it sift down through the tendrils of unease into my heart. I breathed again. Slowly. Deeply and felt peace descend as  my mind quieted and eased angst out of my heart.

Peace. It is within me. And when I allow myself space to feel it flowing through and in and of me, I settle into being present with grace and ease. And in the moment, the words flow.

While I was in San Francisco, here in Calgary on June 21, Summer of Peace Calgary 2012 kicked off. Over 200 people gathered to drum and sing and dance and share peace, love and joy. “Sounds like a 60s revival,” a friend said when I told her about the event.

I laughed. “Whatever era it revived, awoke or created, peace is needed today, just as much as it was needed back then.”

We all need it. Peace.

Where is yours? What does yours look like?

Are you a peace-warrior? Or, do you prefer to see yourself as a peace-builder? A peace-nik? Will you sit in it or march? Will you rise up or lay down before the guns of war, the volleys of strife, the staccato of unease washing over our world?

What will you do for peace? How will you make a difference that creates peace in our world today?

These are important questions we all must ask if we are to rebuild peace within our hearts. If we are to reclaim that state of grace that knows, deep within us, that being-at-peace within is our birthright, our natural way of being, our gift to the world.

What will you do to create as we invite everyone at Summer of Peace —  Peace in the Heart. Peace in the Home. Peace in the Land. Peace in the World.

At Summer of Peace, we’ve created the Peace Academy — an opportunity for Calgarians to join together to dig into the fertile soils of peace that lay fallow within each of our hearts. Through dialogue and active engagement, we will nurture peace into fruition and in its blossoming out, we will create gardens of hope, love and joy for all to enjoy.

For five weeks of summer, the Peace Academy will open minds, touch hearts and lift spirits up. For five weeks of summer you can learn how to create peace within your heart, your home, land and world.

Now is the time for peace. No matter your age, no matter where you live, make peace a priority. There is no better time than Right Now to make peace with your past. To make peace with those for whom unforgiveness holds you in its thrall.

Make peace in your heart and let the peace within you become the world all around you.

What will you be doing this summer?

I’ll be making peace at the Peace Academy. Please, do come join me and others as we create a world of difference through re-building peace, one thought, one step, one deed at a time.

And from each one of us, the many will be connected. And in the many, we will create a world of difference. We will rebuild a world of peace.