As we step into a new year, it is helpful to remember that real peace is deep within each of us. Nothing can really disrupt that peace. I do not have words to describe it but I have learned through many of life’s lessons including significant losses, frightening world events, financial worries and more that, once I get back to my center through solitude and mindfulness, that deep peace is always there. It took a lot of work to find it many years ago and more work to hold on to it initially. Now I can sense it and believe in it almost instantly in spite of the challenges life puts on my path. I do not strive for happiness. I believe that comes in moments here and there, but peace is another story. In my opinion it is what matters.
We might get temporarily off center but the more we practice solitude and mindfulness/meditation on a daily basis the faster we are able return to our heart center and the peace that nothing can destroy.
My wish for all of us in this new year is that we develop or continue to develop the practices we all need in order to deepen or discover our inner peace; to get so good at this that our peace remains undisturbed in spite of any challenges this new year brings. Oh, we may weep and grieve a loss … hopefully we allow ourselves to do so. We may be frustrated, angry or frightened, but once we have found that deep inner peace and nurture it with solitude, mindfulness, nature, meditation, music, art and more, we will find it easier to turn to it for comfort, reassurance and hope.
Peace is always ours. In order to maintain it, we can seek out a quiet corner a couple of times a day, at least, and come back to our true selves, our center, our deep peace. It is possible for us to hold and feel that peace as we also grieve or experience fear. With awareness and stillness, peace will triumph making our grief or fear easier to manage. It is not a contradiction. In our dualistic culture we tend to think that joy and grief, anxiety (fear) and peace cannot co-exist. They can. And the deeper our practice, the more quickly peace will win out or at least predominate. Actually by allowing ourselves to feel our sadness and fear, the path to peace is more easily cleared.
This year, if you do not have a regular practice or if it is shaky, why not focus only on deepening or creating one instead of fighting the scale, smoking, lack of exercise and more. All those habits might be more easily managed if we get deeply in touch with the peace that resides in each of us. We might see it more easily in others also.
I wish you a peace-filled new year.