Inner Peace

Peace of Mind

“Fill your mind with the meaningless stimuli of a world preoccupied with meaningless things, and it will not be easy to feel peace in your heart.”

                                        Marianne Williamson

The down-side of going away on vacation is that when you come back, all the things you didn't do before you left and all the things that have accumulated in your absence are still there, and now there is a time crunch. I don't know about you, but I hate to be caught up in the minutia of everyday life—grocery shopping, depositing money in the near-empty bank account, picking up the order at the pharmacy, returning overdue books to the library, and on and on. It sucks up precious time that I want to devote to other things. I had to hit the ground running as soon as I returned—taught Sunday school the very next morning. Now, I feel the pressure of all that needs to be done and none of it is fun! Who knew that so much dust could collect in one week!

For most of us, being preoccupied with life's many menial tasks causes irritability. Our peace of mind goes right out the window when we find an overdue bill at the bottom of the pile of mail that didn't get opened because we were preoccupied with packing for our trip. Who could imagine that just days ago, while we were sitting in that quaint little cafe sipping our latte, a whopping big tax bill was waiting at home. One less latte wouldn't have made a difference, of course, but that's where one's mind goes, doesn't it?

Peace of mind is hard to come by for us Westerners. We worry about everything—world peace, presidential elections, an inept congress, our slipping incomes, our under-water mortgages, the precariousness of our security—and on and on. It's hard to comprehend that if we weren't so fortunate, we wouldn't have so much to worry about. Sounds paradoxical, doesn't it? The fact that we have everything we need means that we have much to lose, and when you have much to lose, you worry.

One way of achieving peace of mind is to realize how fortunate we are to have a mortgage to pay, furniture to dust; how lucky to have an old parent to care for; how wonderful that our children call us when they need to talk about their problems. How amazingly blessed I am that I can go to a bank and withdraw money from a savings account to pay my bills. What a gift that is. If I can convert my irritable attitude into one of pure gratitude, nothing can separate me from my peace of mind—not even an overdue bill!

                                              In the spirit,

                                              Jane