Peace is not something you wish for: It’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.

- Robert Fulghum

Welcome!  Come on in and relax.  Take a deep breath.  Deep breathes help release that pent up energy and stress we store in our bodies and minds.

Since we will mostly be discussing peace or inner peace or peace of mind at the new place here I thought it would be appropriate to first give some definitions of peace so we know what we are talking about. 

I took the ole’ Webster’s off the shelf and dusted it off and looked up the word “peace” to see what it had to say.  The definition we will be interested in here is “an undisturbed state of mind; absence of mental conflict; serenity: in full peace of mind.”

But, what I find most interesting is that many of the definitions talked about an “absence of” or “freedom from” something.  That will be mostly what we focus on - the things or mindsets or attitudes that we need to get rid of in order to have peace of mind.  And to go deeper we will discuss how to get rid of these things.  I beleive it’s the Latin form of the word peace that means “to confirm an agreement.”  That was particularly fascinating to me as it brought me to think about how peace is when all our thoughts and all of our actions are in agreement with one another or in congruity with each other.

I decided to make a list of some things that will help us to define peace.  Here are some of these things (in no particualar order  - mostly just a stream of consciousness of what I have been thinking of over the last few days):

absense of or freedom from:

  • inner conflict
  • negative thinking
  • thinking errors
  • emotional pain
  • self limiting thoughts and beliefs - anything that holds us back
  • self, self-centeredness - life being all about what we want
  • stress and worries, anxieties
  • fears
  • chaos
  • complexity
  • a life on autopilot
  • ignoring your thoughts or needs

    •  

    harmony - what we think and believe and what we do is in harmony

    living out our priorities

    listening to our needs and taking care of them.

    satisfied with all aspects of our lives.

    calmness on the inside, no matter what is happening on the outside

    tranquility

    consciousness - living purposefully and happily in the now

    feeling free to state your opinion or needs

    simplicity

     

    It’s really interesting, as I wrote out this list and over the last few days as I was pondering over these, it really struck me that it’s about opposites.  On the other side of the “absences of” or “freedoms from” is the answer to what peace is.  Just an interesting thought.  So if we can define the absence does that mean that we can define the answer…… ? Just something to think about. 

    I asked my husband what peace was to him.  His response was “flying in an airplane.”  That certainly did not surprise me as everything is about airplanes to him.  He’s just like a little boy when it come to planes. :)

    So now my questions for you are: 

    What is your definition of peace or what is it to you? 

    What makes you feel peaceful?

    Your answers may help me write some future posts…..