“Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now, with every breath I take let this be my solemn vow…”

-By Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955

This song (initially written for and sung by the International Children’s Choir of the Granger Dance Academy in Long Beach, California) has a catchy tune and stays in my mind whenever I hear or read “Peace on Earth” anywhere. I recall singing it first as a Girl Scout and at various church services over the years, especially around the holidays.

This New Year brings lots of promises of Peace on Earth and wishes for happiness, health and prosperity. I am hopeful that peace is possible. Where do you find peace?  Does it come from within or is it external? Do you want to be active and organized with others, using your voice and public spaces to be heard and to help create peace through action? Do you prefer a quiet place, somewhere serene to find and feel peace? Maybe you’re on an Adirondack chair on the dock overlooking the view from the lake at Camp, or you are at peace surrounded by the tranquil turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea?

Peace is a sign, a feeling and a cause. It is like the wind, you can feel it and hear it but you can’t see it. I’m a fan of peace and am looking within and reaching out in my role as a travel advisor and group coordinator to help “Peace Out” in 2017.

Women’s March for Peace and Justice

For starters, I’ve organized a two night tour to Washington, DC, for over fifty Mainers to attend the Women’s March on Washington, January 21st. For me, it is not a protest but a peaceful gathering of hundreds of thousands of Americans standing and marching together. The Women’s March organizers are reaching out and gathering momentum from all levels of local, state and national organizations, and international eyes are on this gathering.

The Women’s March National Committee is sending a message to all levels of government, “In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us…”

What peace is to the Women’s March organizers is clear and external, “We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.”

Or Try Carribbean Bungalows!

Alternatively, for those of you looking internally to cultivate your own inward peace, here is an idea. Get away this winter. Find yourself someplace else! Put down your electronic devices and recharge your internal battery with sunshine. How about spending some time surrounded by the tranquil turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea? There are many ways make this happen: on a remote island, in a small beach house or an all-inclusive resort. Exciting and new this year in the Caribbean are the Palafitos, or “over the water” bungalows in the Mayan Riviera.  These bungalows offers extraordinary views, uniquely situated just off the sands of Maroma Beach – voted by Travel Channel as one of the top ten beaches in the world. Let me help you plan your peaceful getaway to the sunshine in 2017 and let the risk and stress dissolve!

Here’s to a peaceful 2017 with whatever way you are able to cultivate it!

As they say in Scotland during Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Celebration), “A guid New Year to ane an` a` and mony may ye see!”