“An eye for an eye only ends up making the world blind.” Mahatma Gandhi.
I’ve thought about this over the past few weeks. I haven’t written at all, which is a good indication of the peaceful state or lack there of that has ensued my being.
As a teenager, I remember feeling unsettled, as best I can describe it. Uncertain. Insecure. Perhaps in retrospect my teenage angst was not dissimilar to those of my peers. However, as a teen I remember feeling totally and utterly alone. I remember sitting in the widow seat of my teenage bedroom, hugging my cat “Riches”, tears streaming down my face thinking “Oh my gosh, will it ever get better?” I remember that feeling. Why? Because it was the feeling I had for more times that I care to even confess. I remember that feeling…..
Then one day, something clicked.
My road to peace, my journey, is up to me.
Over the past few years, I’ve spent time trying tor figure out who I am. Really am. Not the picture some may see me to be or the one I think I should convey to others.
What helps? Here are tools or instruments to living a more peaceful life. (in no particular order)
- Find what makes you happy. In work. At home. In life. Life is far too uncertain to be living the life others want us to live.
- Meditate. Spending time in quiet union with the mind/body helps to calm and center me and helps. Period.
- Pray. When I can’t seem to find the answers, I pray. Often it’s an ongoing dialogue I’m sure my Catholic school teachers and Priests would not find correct, or maybe I’m just overanalyzing. That’s entirely possible.
- Running. For me it is the best way to get out whatever stress or unpleasant feelings I’m having in my day. I never, ever regret a run I take. I often regret those I skip. Thank goodness marathon training season is upon me….no more excuses.
- Baking. I love making food for my family and all those in my life I consider family. It is my creative outlet, something I encourage everyone to find.
- Writing. One of the reasons I have felt “off” these past few weeks has been my inability to find time to write. Being able to get out what is in my mind and on to paper (or computer) helps to calm me.
- Saying no. No, I’m sorry I can’t do that right now. No, I’m sorry I can’t take another task on right now. No, I’m sorry I can’t meet you for ____ right now. I re-learned that over the past few weeks. I forgot to say no, and well….hence my derailment on my path towards peace.
- Music. There are few things in life I like more than music. Lately, the music of Amrit Kirtan, Shatam Kaur (yoga music, I like to categorize it) and my new favorite Ms Mr are on the top of my playlist. To aid in meditation or to help me just unplug from my day, music has a unique ability to help me achieve these outcomes.
- Letting go of the little things. There was a book (series) written about this…why didn’t I write about it before? I’d be the millionaire, right? But truthfully, so much of life is filled with “little things”….little things people argue about that in the end, are a heaping pile of misunderstandings or assumptions or missed opportunities to show love. My mother in law once said to me “I ask myself often, is it more important to be right, or kind?” I choose to be kind. So maybe the “little things” in life don’t bother me so much, not because I’m weak and a sucker…but because for me, it is more important to be kind…it is in kindness…I find peace.
So there ya go. I learned, again, that my path towards peace is not for others to define or do for me…that’s the easy route and often not the temporary one. Rather, my path to peace, is finding ways to eliminate the clutter that is in my way and focus on the “who” I am rather than who others want me to be.
“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Peace…….
peaceinthejourney 