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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

PEACE IN A WORLD WITHOUT IT

"If you want peace, stop fighting.  If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts."
 -Elu

"Nothing can bring you peace of mind but yourself."
 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The punishment of every disordered mind is its own disorder." 
- St. Augustine


As I sat down at my laptop tonight, mulling over what to write for tomorrow's post, 

I heard one word murmur within my mind: "Peace."

I wasn't thinking of inner peace.  

I was thinking of what my writing friends might be interested in.

Perhaps the Great Mystery answered my question for me.

Don't expect any great wisdom here though.  

I am not the Great Mystery.  I don't have the job qualifications.

But I know that, like happiness, you cannot find peace by looking for it.  

Like happiness, peace of mind is a by-product of living not its goal.


Be true to you:

When we practice congruency, we behave similarly to the way we feel and think. 

When the way we see ourselves and the way the world sees us is the same, we are practicing congruency. 

Problems arise when we see ourselves one way 

(for example, as a loving mother) 

but behave in ways that are at odds with how we would like to see ourselves 

(for example, neglect our children because we are too busy). 

Finding ways to keep our inner ideals and the way we behave similar is one of the keys to peace of mind.


Peace on the battlefield:

It is easier to be at peace when we listen to beautiful music, play with our pets, 

walk through undisturbed nature, and step away from the world.

But Life is a harsh  mistress.  

She draws you back into the chaos of conflicts with bosses, spouses, children, bills, ill health ... 

the number of enemy troops you face sometimes appear endless.

Each battlefield we find ourselves on contains a lesson that will keep us from worse ones 

if we but learn it correctly.


Look for that lesson.  

Perhaps it is only to take ourselves not so seriously, to learn to laugh at ourselves 

(we will never run out of material!), 

to learn that some battles are not worth the collateral damage, 

or to find we should not fail to plan unless we plan to fail.

 Failure has negative connotations, but actually, everyone fails. 

 How can you improve or learn anything if you never fail? 

A healthy attitude towards failure encourages bravery. 

It’s not you that is the failure, instead it is what you tried that failed. There is a big difference.


Listen to the Wake-Up Call of Loss

 To lose something we had taken blithely for granted is jarring.  

It should alert us to look for all the other blessings in our lives that really are so precious.


Forgive:

Those who hurt us have taken enough of our time.  Why invite them along in your thoughts for the rest of the day?  

They have to live in the world they make for themselves with their thoughtless natures.  

Forgive them, release them from the obligation they owe you, and you will find you have released yourself.  

Hate is like drinking rat poison, hoping the rat will die of it.


Think Outside of Yourself

Each person you pass or meet is fighting a battle no one knows anything about.  

Be kinder than you might be inclined to be for that reason.


Learn the Power of a Smile

 Whenever you are laughing or smiling, something interesting happens.

 Not only does something happen on a chemical level to make you feel better, 

but it also stops all stress and negativity from entering your psyche. 

 A simple smile can make such a difference.


 ‘Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’
 ~Victor Frankl

16 comments:

  1. Thank you.
    Some sage advice here. I am a work in progress (always) but MUCH prefer peace to the alternatives. And so strive towards it.

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    1. Aren't we all works in progress? :-) Sometimes the hurt can be so deep it fills us to overflowing. Yet, our hearts keep on and with each successive night's sleep, the wounds hurts slightly less and we heal.

      Thanks for visiting and letting me know I was not playing to an empty theater! :-)

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  2. Truly loved it and definitely a post I needed to read today. Such a simple, powerful message. I hope you're keeping well Roland, it's been a while! :)

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    1. It has been awhile! My stomach is giving me fits or is it the other way around? :-)

      I am truly glad you liked my post. I hope the sun shines brighter for you tomorrow!

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  3. What a comforting post to read, Roland. Thank you for it. Now I'm going off to quiet my mind as I fall asleep (sometimes it's hard trying to quiet my old gray matter...).

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    1. It came to me out of the night so I decided to run with it. May your sleep have been peaceful. :-)

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  4. Things we know, yet all too easily forget. THis is a good reminder for me who tends to blindly dash around without thought or pause until I hit a snag... thank you.

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    1. Few of us need to be taught. We only need to be reminded. :-) May the days ahead be snagless.

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  5. Hi Roland - peace and appreciation of others ... not to criticize others approach, lead and set examples for others to follow or at least be aware of ... as EC - I'm a WIP too ..

    Take care - and cheers Hilary

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    1. Yes, works in progress who have friends in cyberspace. Not so bad, right?

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  6. I know I'll never run out of laughing material...

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  7. But Life is a harsh mistress indeed Roland. Just watching an American cop show last night which reflects real life--the Black Lives Matter campaign--and couldn't help thinking, what would these writers write about if the world wasn't so chaotic?

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    1. The human psyche is quite chaotic enough to birth many stories sadly. :-(

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  8. I actually found much great wisdom here, Roland. Thank you for everything.

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    1. If there was wisdom here, it was what I learned from others. :-) And thank you for being my friend.

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