How to maintain peace of mind, in what I call "Peaceful Perspective."
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Written by Jameson Arthur.
About an hour ago, I was steadily driving home, when I noticed some congestion in my way. I had just merged onto the exit ramp from my section of interstate here, and ran into traffic about halfway down the long stretch. Seeing as the Saints had just wrapped up some kind of football game, I considered this to be a checkpoint gone horribly awry, and thought not much of it. It was an inconvenience, considering the light cycle of the traffic light that overlords over the main intersection that was ahead, but I'd had a reasonable weekend.
At first, I was irritated. I had just wrapped up a long weekend at work, I was tired, I had a lot to do when I returned home, and I was trying to remember if I left my bedroom door open. This pertains to the incident last night, when I returned home post-midnight to discover that one of the two angry cats I am permanently cat-sitting decided to urinate in my bedding. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to the concept of dealing with that again. It isn't necessarily a long drive home from work; I believe I clock an average 20 minutes, give or take with a certain "other" traffic light with an even faultier light cycle. Regardless, this traffic obstacle was a pain in my rear, and I was rather disappointed to have the hurdle set before me.
Yet, I thought about this some, and I realized that I was getting worked up over nothing. It was a beautifully overcast late afternoon, with a cool temperature and a nice, delicate breeze running through the air. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't in a hurry, and the cats were probably fine. Better yet, I had an excuse to watch one of my favourite movies again, Hanna, to write an analytic essay for English class tomorrow. So, I turned my music down and took a certain ownership of the moment; I allowed inner peace to overcome me, listened to the wind and the subtle sounds of the traffic, and focused on my good mood. I hadn't made that much money this morning, and there were a few problems at work with a table or two--but I'd left an hour early, my weekend was extremely prosperous, my few debts are now clear with a nice, small wad of money left over, and I had all evening to do with what I pleased.
It has taken me a long time to achieve this kind of in-the-moment peace. Mostly, experience did it for me. When you have a lot of life experience jammed into a relatively small frame of time, you have the opportunity to reflect on things a little more than most. There's nothing more humbling than a bad trip thrown into your life, a subtle reminder or nod from the cosmos that there is always somebody who has it worse. We had this, my brothers and I, drilled into our heads as children, and while I haven't exactly had the greatest of lives, I think I can say I'm pretty satisfied with mine at present. I've picked up a lot of neat tricks over the years, and I can safely live beyond my means with careful, planned shopping, a little research, and a nice spectrum of websites that I periodically browse for whatever I may need outside the realms of groceries.
My point is that I've had it pretty good. Chances are, so have you. It would be a disservice to your fortune and your mental condition to accept any less than that, and to discard whatever annoyances may trifle you from time to time. You've got to have the bad to appreciate the good, but the bad will never overpower you unless you allow it to do so.
But how does one build up such inner peace? I suggest the following:
So, my advice to you would be to find the peace in the moment. There will always be dark times ahead, but they are overshadowed by how peaceful you're bound to feel in the middle of it. Peace and trouble never last forever. No matter how bad things get, or how hopeless it all seems, it will always be better in the end.
Should it be the "end," then, what do you care? It's over, and you'll find your peace anyway.
Yet, I thought about this some, and I realized that I was getting worked up over nothing. It was a beautifully overcast late afternoon, with a cool temperature and a nice, delicate breeze running through the air. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't in a hurry, and the cats were probably fine. Better yet, I had an excuse to watch one of my favourite movies again, Hanna, to write an analytic essay for English class tomorrow. So, I turned my music down and took a certain ownership of the moment; I allowed inner peace to overcome me, listened to the wind and the subtle sounds of the traffic, and focused on my good mood. I hadn't made that much money this morning, and there were a few problems at work with a table or two--but I'd left an hour early, my weekend was extremely prosperous, my few debts are now clear with a nice, small wad of money left over, and I had all evening to do with what I pleased.
It has taken me a long time to achieve this kind of in-the-moment peace. Mostly, experience did it for me. When you have a lot of life experience jammed into a relatively small frame of time, you have the opportunity to reflect on things a little more than most. There's nothing more humbling than a bad trip thrown into your life, a subtle reminder or nod from the cosmos that there is always somebody who has it worse. We had this, my brothers and I, drilled into our heads as children, and while I haven't exactly had the greatest of lives, I think I can say I'm pretty satisfied with mine at present. I've picked up a lot of neat tricks over the years, and I can safely live beyond my means with careful, planned shopping, a little research, and a nice spectrum of websites that I periodically browse for whatever I may need outside the realms of groceries.
My point is that I've had it pretty good. Chances are, so have you. It would be a disservice to your fortune and your mental condition to accept any less than that, and to discard whatever annoyances may trifle you from time to time. You've got to have the bad to appreciate the good, but the bad will never overpower you unless you allow it to do so.
But how does one build up such inner peace? I suggest the following:
- Meditation helps. I zone out a lot during the day, willingly, but I try and put 15 minutes twice a day aside to do some nice, relaxing meditation. You'd be surprised to discover how light your burdens will become after taking away taxing sensory input, and letting quiet silence wash over you for a small period every day.
- Take a deep breath. Again, it's surprising how much good this release can do you.
- Focus on your surroundings. Really pay attention to what's going on, and seek out the details. Is there a breeze? How does the sun feel on your skin? Is it chilly out? How do your clothes feel, rustled against your skin? Who is in the area, and what are they doing? What furniture is in the room, and how is it designed? All this and more compounds the point, and it will reinforce your perception and your mental condition. Nothing says "Owning the Moment" quite like sizing up your immediate surroundings.
- Spend thirty minutes outside every day. The sun isn't just there to deliver Vitamin D or keep the world bright; it's been clinically decided that a test group of individuals deprived of sunlight every day for weeks or months showed higher signs of depression and aggression. Naturally, not getting enough sunlight could be antagonizing your mental condition, and while I won't go on the record with that one, it stands to reason that not enough sunlight could still tamper with your happiness. Get out there! Let it soak your skin, but be careful of ultraviolet ray damage. All good things in moderation, after all.
- Make sure you're still drinking plenty of water. Dehydration is a silent aggressor of various physiological and psychological tendencies, and over 80% of America is dehydrated--and a lot of those people don't even know it! Don't skirt on drinking your recommended 64 oz. of clean water a day, or you'll pay the price further down the line.
So, my advice to you would be to find the peace in the moment. There will always be dark times ahead, but they are overshadowed by how peaceful you're bound to feel in the middle of it. Peace and trouble never last forever. No matter how bad things get, or how hopeless it all seems, it will always be better in the end.
Should it be the "end," then, what do you care? It's over, and you'll find your peace anyway.
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