Buddha said, “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
Seems like a simple statement right? Then why do we try so hard to gain it from outside things? Why do we think these things can bring us pleasure? Some people think a fancy car will bring them inner peace. Interesting huh? Unless driving a Bentley some how can take away any possibility of road rage; I don't see anyone achieving inner peace from owning one. Perhaps earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year will bring one inner peace? I'm thinking... probably not, unless it can be purchased in the fanciest and most expensive of stores.
Ooo, maybe a BIG fancy house; that'll do the trick. Well, we're getting closer. How you wonder? Let me explain my theory. Houses are made of sticks and bricks - at least that's the way I look at it. We spend so much time confined in buildings of steel and concrete and
bricks that we quickly forget where we come from - Nature... It is natural for us
to be in nature and this is why it feels so good and it is so peaceful
when you take a walk in a park, bike on a trail in the forest or just sitting outside feeling the sun and smelling the air. As I
am typing this blog, I have my balcony door open watching the stillness of the trees, with the wind blowing
through their branches calmly, it is a sight that not only inspires me,
but that I find peace within. Nature is
something you just can’t experience in a car or a house. What I've experienced over that last few years and what I'm learning more so in "the 39th year" is there are many steps to achieve inner peace. Communing in nature and feeling the presence of the Universe is just the beginning; it is the map that we need to direct us to finding our inner peace.
Tonight leaving the gym, I watched a much older man walking from his car into the restaurant next to the gym. He appeared so frail as he moved gingerly across the parking lot. I sat in my car and just watched him. It made me a bit sad because he reminded me of my grandfather who passed in January. They both were blessed to have lived long lives. Time, however, is not on any of our sides. What we borrow from the Universe, we must give back. That reminded of another step in the quest to attain inner peace... Accept what is...
There is only so much we can affect. What we cannot change, what we cannot influence no matter what, should not be a concern to us. This is
what I noticed with so many people, is that we focus and linger on
things which we have no control over. Why worry about something that
all the worrying in the world will not change? Why care about what
other people think of us when we’re not even sure what it is they are
actually thinking? Once you open your eyes and mind to this fact, and start
accepting what you cannot change, you automatically relieve
yourself of a mountain of stress and anxiety. It’s like a huge weight
has been lifted from your shoulders. Focusing on negativity and worry is like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain; fifty percent of the time you may need the umbrella, but the other fifty percent of the time you are walking around carrying a load that you don't need. Taking the load off, will make this journey SO much easier. Accept what is... this is the
road towards peace.
If nature is the map and accepting what is is the road, then I'm at the beginning of my journey. Since this looks to be an ongoing process, stick with me... it may be a challenging journey ahead; but if we just get out of our own way, we can simplify it. We have a way of complicating everything, including our true nature and desires. If inner peace is going to be attained, we have to stop complicating our lives with things that are of no real consequence or matter to us. Yet, those things are hard to let go of... but in the words of the Indigo Girls, "the hardest to learn was the least complicated..."
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