Christmas Peace

When six years old, I lay in pajamas on the floor
beside the Christmas tree
and turned my mind loose to wonder: 
nothing to do with presents, 
just assessing the feel of Christmas. 

What I felt was stillness and a sense of peace. 
I experienced that peace again
when reading books 
in bed with a flashlight under covers:
my first experience of freedom;

so learned peace was linked to freedom: 
to making my own decisions 
and being who I wanted to be; 
learned by my mistakes
as I sought to achieve independence;

chose friends and tried to understand others: 
whom to trust 
and whom to steer clear of;
to admit mistakes  
and apologize when at fault: 

accepted this is the formula for peace
and a test of freedom.