You You He's what is it even Most of us seek it do we really know what it is I Used to think that peace meant quiet As a child that would be scolded for making too much noise just doing what kids do I Want some peace and quiet around here I was told so I equated the two Now on my 50s,
I'm in search of peace and it's really meaning I I think that peace does imply an absence of noise,
But it doesn't have to When I reflect on my tumultuous life and try to find memories of being at peace a few moments really stand out for me These moments were usually spent in solitude We used to go on multi-day hikes in the Canadian Rockies back in the 70s as a family I Remember being on a five-day hike around the back of Mount Robson to Berg Lake and beyond I Found myself sitting on a smaller mountain looking across the valley to the magnificent Mount Robson and the turquoise lake and glacier below It was a beautiful sunny day But this mountain on phone which I sat was experiencing high winds It was loud the wind was puffeting my ears and whistling through the rocks But as I witnessed God's majestic creation before me I was truly at peace I Had no thoughts I was very present Forgetting about the scars and open wounds inflicted by familial dysfunction I Didn't even worry into the future about what might be for supper I merely observed God in the mountains the sky the lake the trees and the wind He spoke to me not words just a silent message of enduring love and acceptance On another occasion some years later I was being a typical fearless young teenager We were living then on an 80 acre piece of land I was filled with teenage angst want depression and anxiety I found an escape in a nearby tree with some really good branches for climbing My first descent took me fairly high and then Curiosity had me using my father's hundred foot measuring tape to see how tall the tree really was It was so tall I needed to mark hundred feet climb down and unhook the tape and continue from my mark I Ended up at 138 feet which was a very long descent I ended up at 138 feet which was approximately six feet from the trees top The trunk at that point was dangerously small and the branches weak not a safe place to be Yet I remained there clutching the tree looking out over the landscape of treetops It was not particularly notable to look at compared to a mountain scape But it was beautiful at the same time Again the wind whistled in my ears and there was a wispy sound as it blew through the all the tops of the pine and fur trades for miles around It was like a sea of green swaying this way and that It was another world above my own with communities of birds socializing above the green sea Again thoughts faded and I was merely the observer Again God spoke of love and acceptance Just this morning I read a quote on Instagram from Wayne Dyer as I was pondering the question of peace He said Peace is the result of training the mind to see the world as it is rather than how you think it should be What a great quote We all create expectations of how things should be how they should work out What should happen when we hang on to these expectations and make them real in our future that has not yet arrived When things unfold and events don't match our elaborate fabrications of what was to be becomes unsettling Our internal dialogue becomes a noisy chatter Griping to ourselves and anyone else that might listen it wasn't supposed to be like this It is resistance It is swimming against the current It is futile It is a waste of energy If we let go of outcome of expectation We won't be disappointed If we accept what is in each moment and deal with it as it is We are at peace When I had a business that was faltering I was on the phone with a friend complaining about it He listened to me and said Oh well,
It is what it is This infuriated me What good was saying that?
Where was the commiseration?
The arm over my shoulder saying wow that really sucks Now in retrospect I see that what he said was really profound Instead of wasting precious time fighting and not accepting what was happening to my business I could have been working toward rectifying it or creating a smooth exit plan Peace I believe it also requires non-judgment If we refrain from deciding if something is good or bad We can be okay or at peace with whatever it is So is peace perhaps the non-judgmental acceptance of the present moment exactly as it is?
Be it in the midst of frenetic urban turmoil or out for a walk in the quiet forest I'm thinking that may be one way to describe it We don't need to go anywhere to achieve this In the midst of the three ringed circus we have created our lives to be We can settle ourselves with a few moments of focused breathing and let go Let it all go Will any of this matter next week?
Next year?
In ten years?
Let go and be at peace Unclench your jaw Breathe Let your shoulders drop Breathe Fill your lungs and when you exhale just let it go Let it all go Peace Peace you
