3 Ways to Stop the Peace Thief
It would be really cool if peace was bestowed on all of us. If it was just this thing we had and didn’t have to work to achieve it. Oh, wait. It is. We start off that way. Then life gets in the way and we get busy being busy and the peace just gets pushed out. Peace needs space. The problem is, the space gets taken up by meetings and practices and Facebook and bills and resentments and stuff. Sometimes, you need to take a minute and clean out some of the stuff. Here are a few ways to declutter to give peace some room to breathe.
- Comparing Steals Your Peace Don’t live your life thinking about what your neighbor has and you don’t. Peace, happiness, or contentment can never be found looking at your neighbor. Take stock in what you have, who you have and be grateful. I know you have something to be grateful for. Did you wake up today?
- Resentments Steal Your Peace Don’t let crap fester. If someone has offended you — address it or let it go. Holding on to it only hurts you. At some point, it becomes a choice to hold on to the anger. Don’t let it take up the space where your peace is supposed to reside.
- Be in Every Moment My 3 year old grand daughter has the absolute perfect system for mindfulness. She takes a drink of water, “I love water.” We go outside to play, “I love outside.” Be mindful like a 3 year old. Acknowledge where you are. If your mind is wandering all over and not in the moment, your peace is not there either.
Recently I was at a women’s prison (volunteering, not residing). Women walk around and talk and — get this, they laugh. I’m sure things aren’t perfect or even sometimes comfortable. I’m certain that they miss family. But, they are able to have peace. You can have peace wherever you are. Stop trying to be someone else. Stop letting stuff reside where it doesn’t belong. Be mindful like a 3 year old.
