"Out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train"

Do you know about the origin of the peace symbol? Neither did I, until earlier today. The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric signals (semaphore is a system of communicating at a distance by visual signs like flags or gloved hands) for the letters "N" and "D", standing for Nuclear Disarmament. The peace symbol was developed by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in 1958 and was first adopted in the 1960s by those involved with the anti-war movement.

Semaphore "N" for Nuclear...

Semaphore "D" for Disarmament...


When the signs are superimposed and encircled, the shape of a peace symbol is made.

Not to be confused with the Mercedes-Benz symbol. I hate when that happens.

Anyway, why do I even care? Well, I care because earlier this week I was able to take part in an activity with one of my favorite professors at school. We were leading a Journal Club meeting related to stress and anger reduction in nursing students, and we discussed the idea of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) strategies. These strategies are about self-reflection and acceptance, development of resources to care for oneself and others, and openness to difficulties rather than avoidance. The MBSR strategies help people to reframe situations in order to clearly analyze them and to avoid irrational stress and anger.

She led us in a short relaxation/reflection activity in which we had to close our eyes, let our tension fade away, and come up with one word that would describe our feelings about our impending graduation. We then said our word out loud and discussed, linking our different feelings together. At the end of the activity, she gave us each a metal peace symbol on a chain.



I put mine on and thought about what it could mean to me. Some people wear things on their bodies to remind them of something- a rubber band on the wrist to stop swearing, a tattoo of a special family member. I think I'll use my necklace as a reminder of the importance of positive thinking and of the following quote- "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." If you do one thing for yourself today (which you should do every day, no matter how many kids you have or how long your to-do list is), take five minutes to close your eyes, relax every muscle in your body, think of a word that describes how you are feeling, and try to appreciate that you are ALIVE to feel that way, whether good or bad. I know that it's hard a lot of the time, but as my mom says, it's better than the alternative.