A common desire among people is to attain inner peace. It may even be more desirable than wanting to feel happy and content. But like most things we strive for in life, we believe that everything must fall into place externally before we have any chance of feeling at peace. We want the right job, enough money, a wonderful relationship, happy family dynamics, and a few good people in our lives.
But this isn’t enough – we also want the world out there to sort itself out. We want less poverty, fewer wars and more respect for Mother Earth. We want less corruption and more fairness. And the list goes on.
However, even the most casual observer of human history can see that at no time was the whole world a place of peace and prosperity. There is always some conflict somewhere, some natural disasters elsewhere and pockets of discontent everywhere.
How can you find peace amongst such chaos? Is it even permissible to feel at peace when there is so much suffering?
Given the realities and complexities of Life, inner peace is perhaps the only rational thing to strive for. And yet we do not look within. We believe our sense of peace is contingent on our circumstances. If our life is messy, if we are facing difficulties and problems, not only do we not feel at peace we also think we have no right to. It seems to be contradictory and even a little callous to feel at peace if things are falling apart around us.
I think this is because we equate peace with passivity and inaction. But peace is anything but passive. It is an active energy, but it is not the opposite of war or conflict. Peace is neutral – it does not take sides. It is the point of equilibrium, the center point of the pendulum before it swings to the other side. And it is this place of neutrality that allows for conscious choice. It’s the space that allows you to take a breath, settle into your body, and tune into your truth.
What is interesting is that inner peace resides in the eye of the storm, which, ironically is the calmest and most peaceful aspect of a storm. It is a point of stillness but with an acute awareness of all that is happening. It is the vantage point of the witness or observer. You see it all, you feel it all, you are even moved by it all, yet there is tranquility and calm underneath. You can see and sense the chaos, but you do not become entangled in the drama of it all.
Experience has taught me that I cannot wait for my external reality to be peaceful; I cannot wait for the stars and planets to align for me to find inner peace. That has not and will not ever happen. The only time and place I can achieve inner peace is when I consciously and intentionally seek it out within. Because it is there, waiting in the stillness of my soul.
Fundamentally, we have no control over events outside ourselves, nor do we have control over other people’s actions, reactions and emotions. Often, we cause our own internal turmoil because we want things – and people – to be different. Even if we could change things, it doesn’t mean they would change for the better. We imagine we know better – but we don’t.
I found that letting go of things outside my control has taken me a long way toward inner peace. Letting go of the notion that I know better or have some superior knowledge about how things should be, has taken me further into that space. I’m not saying that I feel inner peace 100% of the time – I don’t. I still have my fears and insecurities and the occasional rant about this, that or the other. I’ve learned to make peace with that also since I am a human being, being human.
Meditation has helped enormously. Even if I quiet my mind for only a few minutes, those few minutes of peace and stillness remind me that while my mind is fond of drama and chaos, the true essence of me is undisturbed.
The world cannot grant you inner peace, but there is a world of inner peace to be found within. The journey begins by stopping the war in your mind – the judgments, the criticisms, the ‘shoulds’ and ‘have-tos’, the constant replaying of past events, and the need to change or control things. Let go a little at a time and soon the grace of inner peace will be yours.