“First, keep the peace within yourself. Then you can bring peace to others.”
(Thomas a’ Kempis, 1380-1471)

In almost every circumstance, we can make things better for those around us if we are the calmest person in the room. But far too often, we’re not.

If we really want to be the kinds of parents, spouse, and leaders people can look up to–the kinds of people our kids strive to become—then we have to learn how to keep the peace within ourselves. We cannot jump the gun and rush to fix others’ problems instead of taking a long, hard look at our own. The people in our life need our calm presence more than just about anything else.

We all have what it takes to give it to them, if we’re willing to pursue the kind of peace that only comes through asking ourselves tough questions and confronting our own difficult realities.

Peace begins with pause,