Echoes of Peace

Peace and blessings to all who read this.

I'm not sure where to start. Do I talk about myself? If so, do I mention my family first, or my career interests, or my writing? Do I talk about world events? Or do I play it safe and talk about the weather?

I suppose I have to start "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".

I became a Muslim over twenty-five years ago, and my conversion is the single most important event of my life. Becoming a Muslim changed the way I think about the world. It changed the way I think about food, clothing, you name it. Most of all, becoming a Muslim brought me peace.

These days all we hear about is war. If it's not the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, it's the war on drugs, terrorism, whatever. And war references are everywhere. In sports. In the toy aisle of any store. Even the weatherman talks about how two fronts are battling it out.

But what is war? As the song says, "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing."

Peace is what gets us from day to day. We can find peace in drugs, prescription or otherwise. Or we can look for a genuine peace through faith. I've always believed in the real deal.

So while the headlines blare news of the latest battlefront casualties or the latest drive-by shooting, we need to remember to look for the peace.