There’s a big difference between wanting something and yearning for it.

Yearning is a deeper feeling.

I am yearning for something that can’t be bought and isn’t easily found.

I’m yearning for more heroes.

I’m yearning for some politicians in a position to “help those hurting” to do exactly that.

I’m yearning for our elected officials to stop thinking in terms of what a political party can gain - to stop thinking of Democratic or Republican and giving it their best shot to help those without jobs, without the means to pay for basics and without hope.

I believe our politicians would do more for those who are struggling through this pandemic through no fault of their own if they understood what it feels like to be unable to buy something as basic as food.

Our great country can do better than this.

I am yearning for peace in our country, peace in our homes, peace in our heart.

My husband said the absence of peace is something we cannot control. I disagree.

Sure, single-handedly we don’t have the power to bring national peace. But we do have the power to bring it to our own hearts. Simple changes can bring big change.

One simple yet powerful change is to wipe out the rhetoric of hatred from our words. Peace cannot fill your heart if it is already filled with hatred, even if you call that hatred “justified.”

I finally convinced a friend of the fact that we can strongly disagree with an issue without attacking a person.

She was having anxiety attacks over the state in which we find ourselves as a nation. Like so many others, she expressed that anxiety as hatred toward those she held responsible for the state we are in.

Eventually, she came to learn we cannot be filled with the rhetoric of hatred without having it smudge our own soul.

One of the great things about America is that we’ve always allowed differing opinions.

We may rail against ideas we view as harmful. But we remain a strong nation when we recognize the right of each of us to peacefully differ in our opinions.

Somewhere along the line hatred for our differences grew in many hearts. It exploded into what I call the rhetoric of hatred.

My own community is a wonderful place to live where people can be counted on to help when it’s needed.

Yet, even in this little piece of paradise I’ve sadly observed how a few hate-filled individuals can pollute a neighborhood.

One neighbor has two signs in front of his house. One sign says “hatred doesn’t live here.”

The second sign calls for death of a political leader.

Another neighbor wants us to band together to punish those who had Trump signs in their yard.

No wonder I am yearning for peace.

I had hoped once the election was over we would have a bit more peace.

Why do we not understand peace is a powerful gift that can uplift lives of those who pursue it?

What can we do to restore peace in our own community? I believe one answer is to first bring peace into our own heart.

What we don’t do is slip into the rhetoric of hatred.

We recognize when we slide into hatred it doesn’t do anything beneficial. Instead, hatred wipes away more healing emotions.

Maybe my friend didn’t recognize this when she was spouting off vicious hatred. But now she can attest to positive mental and physical changes she experienced once she let go of hatred.

Who can doubt that we need healing? Our nation and our neighborhoods need healing, and we as individuals most certainly need healing.

I believe that healing can start with the everyday heroes I see all around me.

At 6:30 this morning before it was completely light I watched a woman working at her maintenance job at our local golf course. She had to bring her young daughter along because there was no one to care for her and she couldn’t afford to miss work.

It made me think of the sacrifices many women make to take care of their families. They are among our silent heroes, working to improve their lives.

Others also work to help those around them.

My neighbor who just lost her husband puts her grief aside to help a 93-year-old woman struggling to get by.

When a man needed a ride three times a week for kidney dialysis, another neighbor volunteered to take him each day.

These everyday heroes are instruments of peace.

I have always loved the serenity prayer attributed to St. Francis. I used to say the words from my lips. Now, I say the prayer from my heart:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me sow love,

Where there is injury … pardon.

Where there is discard … unity.

Where there is doubt … faith.

Where there is error … truth.

Where there is despair … hope.

Where there is sadness … joy

Where there is darkness … light.”

I do not believe those who say we are powerless to change our world. We can start in our own home and our own community.

We can instill peace one day and one instance at a time, replacing hatred with love as we work to become instruments of peace.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.