Remember that I stated that peace is the absence of fear in conflict. Here is the work. My favorite book states that we should be anxious for nothing. Yeah, right? Think about it; anxiety is the aftermath of fear. If we lack fear (ok, realistically if we reduce fear) what is left? More peace.

Well, it looks like the topic of peace is going to be covered in multiple posts. It is the quintessential simple enigma, so simply complicatedly simple. Remember to be patient with yourself and that you can’t earn mercy or grace. Also remember that a person that doesn’t seek doesn’t find.

I am so selfish and I would wager to say that you just might be too. Think about that situation (or situations) that happened yesterday, you know the one where you were really selfish. See what I mean? We are prone, bent and have a penchant to serve Master Me. And yes it’s wrong but it’s a struggle, a constant conflict. “Constant conflict,” I’ve heard that somewhere before. Oh yeah, in yesterday’s post.

In life there will always be conflict because we are all squarely in the middle of it. Conflict can be greater or lesser but it is always there. Think about it. You just won the lottery but now you are anticipating your least favorite relatives to hit you up for some philanthropy. You got a raise, congratulations, but now your employer expects more from you in the same amount of hours you were working before your raise. You bought a new car, now where do you park it so it doesn’t get scratched or broken into. You get the point, even in bounty we have conflict.

So how do we seek peace and pursue it? We trust, we lighten up, we prioritize what is important, we serve ourselves less, others more and we work on all of this everyday. That doesn’t sound like peace, you say? Now where did you get the idea that peace is absent from hard work? Remember the “pursue it” part, there is definitely work involved. Let’s continue this in my next post.

For me, Cinco de Mayo is paramount for an entirely different reason than enchiladas or General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín’s victory. It is certainly a day of celebration, even a day of victory if defined as “a gaining of the superiority in any struggle” as Webster pens it. On May fifth, 2005, my youngest son was born, at home, in a beautiful struggle that brought far more euphoria than a case of Corona and a lifetime supply of tamales could ever do. Both of my sons have given my wife and me superior experiences that we otherwise would not have had without children. Some of these experiences have been difficult character building moments where wit’s end seemed inevitable, yet we prevailed. Many other moments were joyful learning experiences where we were taught by our sons how the simple things matter most.

We will be having pizza tonight for my son’s birthday party, it’s his favorite and after all, in my world, today is all about him. If I think about it, I might just have a Corona tonight and partake in a momentary toast of honor to that tenacious underdog, General Seguín. On second thought, I’ll save my honor for my family, especially that little guy who makes me smile so darn much. Viva la parenthood!

We have so much to tend to in our lives but we must learn to rest. Here is an analogy that makes sense. If your car has a flat tire, you don’t keep driving because you absolutely have to get somewhere. You stop and attend to the tire so that you can efficiently continue on to your destination. Our frenetic lives can have us operating on worn-out parts. As we need to fix a flat tire, we need to rest to make our efforts most effective. Don’t feel guilty if you feel the need to rest, because you do need to rest. If the biblical creator of the Universe rested, I would say that gives you guilt-free license to kick your feet up to recharge.

I’m still learning how to prioritize, I haven’t arrived yet but what I have found is that when I do get things done in a timely matter, not only do I perform better but I have less stress and pressure. Nobody has ever had a heart attack or taken medication because they have good time management. Life is crazy enough, let’s get our priorities in order, we can reduce stress. By the way, how are your taxes coming? Good news, you have one more day to not procrastinate. Remember, don’t let discouragement prevent you from making better choices right now.

I just listed my little corner of the blogosphere on BlogCatalog. It’s a great site to browse for your blog flavor of the day. Take a look, learn some things.

I’m not one to underdo a task. I consider myself the construction manager and lead carpenter when my wife and I throw a party for our boys. The local building department gets involved and when we are done it looks like a functional movie set. We added the extra weight this year of giving in to the request for an “army party.” Now imagine ten or so little guys hopped up on sugar doing basic training type maneuvers while accurately making the sound of every type of explosive and artillery shell used since the first World War. Oh and the water balloon grenades mixed with the infirmary activity where we had the little soldiers use teamwork to help a fellow wounded soldier by wrapping him up in bandages (toilet paper.) What a colossal mess. I know, you’re thinking “well you did do it to yourselves.”

Sunday, of course, was Easter. This holy day is very significant to my family, it’s true purpose represents sacrifice, redemption and grace much better than any chocolate laying Easter Bunny could ever do. Easter is also a difficult day for many people because simply, it’s a day where we overeat to make it worth corralling ourselves around difficult family members. Good family relationships are crucial to a well balanced, joy filled life. Unfortunately, some family members can be more like a rock tied around your ankle rather than the rock of support and stability they should be. We were blessed, we had a great Easter Sunday with encouraging fellowship and only a slight bit of overeating. OK, maybe a little more than a slight bit.

I have to remind myself not to get too discouraged when I feel so exhausted and spent. Our Easter holiday was a great day but even great days are draining. Our bodies do not differentiate types of stress and stress makes us tired. My wife and I had such great fulfillment and joy planning and developing my son’s birthday party, it was a labor of love but it was stressful. We are exhausted. The goal is in choosing which stress we allow in our lives. Beneficial stress, like thematic birthday parties, is equally as tiring as negative stress, like making bad decisions and dealing with the consequences, but the return on investment is exponentially greater with beneficial stress. Negative stress is a lot like those little bunnies that have regretfully become the icon of Easter, it multiplies and creates more negative stress. The good stress is a byproduct of building relationships, blessing your kids and spouse, working hard for a goal and so many other positive “labors of love” and positive gain. I also need to remember to rest, that’s important as well and I have a hard time with that one. I guess I need to make better decisions when it comes to rest but I’ll figure it out.