Discovering Your Built-In Peace – Beyond The Struggle

Do you ever feel like life shouldn't be so complicated? We can work so hard to control our world, often battling our own thoughts and feelings, too. What if there's a simpler way to find peace?

Come with me to explore the idea that your mind has a natural ability to find balance – a built-in peace that's always accessible. You might say a built in "homeostasis of the mind" - built in and for the purpose of returning to natural peace of mind.

Since I discovered this new perspective on stress and burnout and I learned to trust the mind's ability to get me back on track with little to no effort, my life as a woman and as a nurse educator has shifted. I mean, we don't have to teach babies how to smile when content or nap when tired, right? Inborn peace.

Come along - learn more with me about moving beyond the struggle and rediscovering the tranquility and peace that's always been there - built in.

Transcript

Hi there,

This is Wendy Williams,

Nurse educator,

And I specialize in mental well-being.

I want to continue to talk to you about discovering your built-in peace.

I'm titling this track,

Beyond the Struggle.

So you may remember Confucius,

Ha ha ha,

But anyway,

Confucius once wrote,

Life is really simple,

But we insist on making it complicated.

Now,

Here's my 21st century version as Wendy the nurse.

Life is really simple,

But we have been conditioned to make it complicated.

We've kind of grown up with the idea that we should manage stress,

That we should basically handle everything that comes our way and minimize this and optimize that and take a medication for this and rest for that,

Et cetera.

Well,

What I've come to learn both personally and professionally is the concept of mental homeostasis.

Homeostasis is the drive that much of our bodily systems,

All of our bodily systems use to get back into balance.

So the mind,

Much like the body,

Seeks natural balance.

Peace does lie within.

Every human being comes with that built-in peace.

I mean,

Think about it.

Do you have to teach a baby to nap or to smile?

No.

Just like your body works to regulate your temperature,

We all have an incredible system of resilience built into our minds.

Even if you didn't know it till now,

It is the case.

So our job isn't to stop thoughts or feelings,

But to allow the thoughts to move through and onward unchallenged.

We don't have to be controlled by their very presence.

Let me explain it another way with weather.

So none of us can prevent clouds or rain from coming through,

And we typically don't get upset trying to make them go away.

I mean,

We ride it out,

Right?

We're pretty confident that it will not rain or be cloudy for days and weeks and months.

No need to fret.

Just ride it out.

Do something else.

Well,

It turns out that thoughts and feelings work the same way.

Just like your body works to regulate your temperature,

We have an incredible system of resilience built into our minds.

Cool,

Right?

So it's worth considering again what I mentioned on the first track.

What if we have burnout and the entire concept of stress wrong?

I mean,

Remember my pushing myself away from my desk as a nurse burned out?

It was so uncomfortable,

Really bad.

But getting this understanding clear,

Really feeling into it,

Leaning into it,

It's a shift.

It's a shift in focus.

It's not an instant fix,

But it is a shift.

Our mind already wants to get back to true north and to inner peace.

It's geared for it.

And what I found is simply recalling that fact is often a huge assist as I'm facing circumstances that I'm not really digging,

Whatever they may be.

So when I experienced burnout myself,

Thankfully I was able to turn it around in a few months with support and rest.

But I got to wonder,

If I had known how the mind has its own homeostasis,

Its own drive to return to peace of mind,

How much less time might I have spent feeling miserable or maybe not really gotten miserable at all because the burnout came from everything piling up.

What if I had turned off those feelings,

Turned away from those feelings of anxiety about the circumstances?

Well,

I won't know about looking back,

But I sure know moving forward,

Everyone listening to this,

Everyone everywhere,

We all have the potential for calm,

Even when we experience setbacks and have anxious moments,

Anxious hours,

Anxious days.

But trusting that our mind and our heart want to return to peace of mind,

That's key.

So I'm looking forward to suggesting one thing for you.

Take a notice.

Just notice what your spirit tells you,

What your mind tells you,

What your heart tells you about,

I wonder if natural born peace of mind is really built into the system.

Remember,

The next time you're with a child or a baby or a puppy,

They're just naturally gleeful.

They're naturally unencumbered,

Even with a dirty diaper.

Even when they're hungry,

They let you know,

And then they move on.

It's not a long lasting hand wringing jolt.

Well,

I'm looking forward to being with you more out here on Insight Timer,

And I'm looking forward.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

All right.

Take care,

Everyone.

Again,

This is Wendy Williams,

Nurse educator.

Bye bye.

Reviews

Loved the shift in perspective. Agree that we all want and deserve homeostasis- though we struggle mightily to reach it. I picture a sleeping baby, reminds me of the peace within….
Thanks : )
🌷🪷🌻

My intuition led me here so it’s exactly what I needed. I will come back to this and listen to more of your tracks. It’s comforting feeling like someone else knows how you feel and has gone through burnout and stress. 🙏🏻

I like your direct and friendly approach. I'm going to look for more of your tracks. This just showed up on my feed and it intrigued me. Thanks.

Makes a lot of sense, why struggle when you don’t need to?! Thank you 🙏🏻

Thank you for your insights. Looking forward to learn from you ! Hope to catch your live events soon ! Much love and gratitude ❤️🙏

A great reminder that we are born with peace within. Unencumbered. And we can get back to it 🙏

Lovely to be reminded how our default well-being has been with us since birth! 🙏