Today is International Day of Peace. World leaders have been gathering just across the river at the United Nations to discuss the work that is necessary to move towards a more peaceful planet.

The idea of the amount of work it will take to achieve peace in the world is overwhelming, especially when so much of the world is currently at war.

I’m not a world leader. I’m not a person in power. I have no control over the situation. What can I do about it?

I can do my best to embody peace in my own life. When I embody peace, when I begin each action, interaction and reaction from a place of peace, I can spread the peace.

How can I embody peace? Practice, practice, practice.

Here is a brief Peace Practice for you to try.

Sit comfortably. Fidget around, and then find some stillness.

Allow yourself to soften. Feel your face softening. Feel your jaw softening. Feel your shoulders softening. Allow your whole body to soften.

Feel the breath moving in and out of your nose. Allow your breath to soften.

Allow yourself to remain sitting, softly. Breathing, slowly. Resting there, peacefully.

Repeat to yourself a few times: I am sitting. I am breathing.

While you are sitting there, peacefully, things will continue to happen around you. Things will continue to happen inside of you.

Allow things to happen. Allow things to happen around you, and inside of you.

Repeat to yourself a few times: I am sitting peacefully. I am breathing peacefully.

Remain sitting, peacefully and softly. Undisturbed by any sounds around you. Undisturbed by the temperature of the room. Undisturbed by any scents around you. Undisturbed by any sensations in or on your body. Undisturbed by whatever thoughts or feelings arise.

Undisturbed. Simply allowing things to happen.

Repeat to yourself a few times: Peaceful body. Peaceful breath. Peaceful mind. Peaceful heart.

Sit. Breathe. Undisturbed. Embodying peace. For 2 minutes. Or 5. Or 10. Or 30.

This is the work- practicing peace so that we may someday begin all things from a place of peace.

We might not be able to achieve world peace, but we can do this work. We can practice finding our own inner peace. So that we might move through this conflicted world peacefully.

We are all world leaders. We are people of power. And potential.