Be Excellent to Each Other - Spreading Peace for The Alliance

      Wanting to spread peace and love through Steemit, The Alliance has sent out a call for the family to post themselves making the 'peace' gesture. For funsies, I included a few extra. Now, @Enginewitty asked for this over a week ago so, I'll have to check in with him if there's a late penalty...

      I think that Bill (from the Bill and Ted movies) summed it up best.

"Be excellent to each other."

Aww! Sweet love you sign but...that's too many fingers.
      Remember, this includes yourself. I think peace starts from within. Acknowledging that we aren't in control of anything but how we see the world and what we do with our time in it. If you've peace with yourself, it'll radiate out into the universe. This isn't a unique perspective but, it's mine.

HAAA! And that's too few.

      I don't feel that having inner serenity and being a peaceable person means that one doesn't experience anger, sadness or other feelings commonly seen as 'negative'. I think it means facing why you feel this way, controlling those emotions instead of letting them run roughshod over you and then deciding to use that energy as a constructive force instead of a destructive one. Not to say that someone shouldn't vent. It's healthy so long as one doesn't lash out and harm anyone - including themselves.

Right number of digits but wrong gesture.

      Forgiveness is an act of love and compassion. Who hasn't made mistakes and felt the sting from bad choices? Yes, there are lessons to be learned from these experiences. But, what good has ever come from holding on to the burden of resentment and bitterness? The power of forgiveness begins with letting go of blame. It doesn't mean that you condone what happened, just that you forgive who did it. Again, don't forget to include yourself. Do you punish yourself more than you do others for past transgressions? It's hard, but try to let go of that shame and self-loathing. You deserve forgiveness just as much as anyone else. (Personally, forgiving myself is something that I struggle with. But, this squirrel has gotten better with it.😉)

Okay, you finally have it right but why the hell are you on a roof?

      Patience is an expression of kindness that goes hand in hand with peace. Ever have one of those, " If ONE more person presses my last nerve, I'm going to need a shovel.", kind of days? Obligations pile up, nothing is going as well as you think it should, things happen beyond our control (for example a person driving 5 MPH in front of you with her flashers on and you're late as it is) and our stress spikes. Patience takes respect and understanding and gives the ability to calmly face frustration. Everything happens at its own pace and no amount of yelling will hurry it up. Yup, I'm adding in "don't forget to have patience with yourself". You knew that I was going to. 😁

This is how my fingers throw a peace party...

      Listed last because it's my favorite, I believe that spreading peace means sharing a laugh. Humor is a shield against pain, a sword against conflict, and a comforting blanket against callousness. It grounds us, keeps a day from spiraling down into a deep well of suck, and can diffuse tense situations when tempers are flaring. Could you fight someone while giggling your ass off? Don't you just love the cathartic release you feel after howling with laughter? Spread that around. Share jokes, be silly and try not to take others or yourself too seriously. Sure, not every situation warrants humor and everyone has differences in what they find funny. But overall, I think that humor has the power to strengthen acceptance in our shared humanity and uniqueness.

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