“First, keep the peace within yourself. Then you can bring peace to others.” (Thomas A Kempis)

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 don’t do what it takes to make that possible.

If we really want to be the kinds of parents that our kids can look up to – the kinds of parents that our kids strive to become – then we have to learn how to find and keep the peace within ourselves. We cannot jump the gun and rush to fix their problems instead of taking a long, hard look at our own.

Kids 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.