Find Your Peace

There is a storm raging, and you can either fight it wildly as you try to keep your head above water, or you can let go and float.

So much noise, inside and out. The waves beating down on you from every direction. Your schedule is screaming for attention, your daily working life is screaming for attention, your financial situation, your politics, your latest disgust, news and media, advertising, screaming, screaming, screaming.

Emails that we need to reply to, social media we have to respond to, voicemails we have to listen to. Credit card payments. Subscribes. Unsubscribes. Cookie notifications. Likes. Bargains. Sales. News. Gossip. Rage. Controversy. Scandal. The storm is raging.

Pay attention.

And what about the noise on the inside? Those things we were supposed to remember? The to do lists, the birthdays, what people think, the shame, the guilt, the notes to self, the anxiety, the fear, the insecurity, the memories and the trauma. All of it vying for our attention. Thunder. Lightning.

So much noise. It’s exhausting.

Now take a breath and listen. Listen as the air passes your lips, and notice as your chest expands, and then relaxes as you breathe out. Letting go.

Quiet isn’t it?

Take another, and feel the release in your body. Letting go. Observe the breath coming and going. The air flowing, inward and outward. Like the tides dancing to the moon. Rising and falling. Letting go.

Become a witness to your breathing. And then a witness to your thoughts. Watch as they thrash about, like fish out of water. You don’t need to be part of that. Just step aside and let them be. Do not give them your energy, and instead climb the stairs of a lighthouse, from where you can observe the storm. And no matter how much the wind and the waves and the rain lash against the sides of your tower, it remains calm and warm and safe in here.

Quiet.

From here you can see all those things crying out for your attention. The regret and the bad memories, the trauma and the guilt, the insecurity and the inadequacy. The constant selling and the marketing and the corporate machines. But no matter how ferocious this tempest, you can be its witness, and remain untouched. And you can turn your light in a different direction.

While the storm rages outside, listen to your breathing, and shine your light on the visions beginning to emerge from the shadows. Illuminated by your light, watch as they appear, tentatively at first, drying their wings like new butterflies in the sun.

Turn away from the maelstrom, and see the beauty of your world, and the beauty of yourself. Listen to the birds signing, as breeze sways the trees. Watch as autumn leaves dance and play in the golden hour. Feel the warmth on your face.

Take courage now. The storm is still raging, but less so. It’s not for you. And this other place, this place of calm and warmth, is you. You can bring a piece of it back with you. Pick up a fallen leaf, a pinecone, or take a breath and notice the air. This is you, essential you, without the adornments of those that demand your attention.

Keep this place with you. Reside here. It is home. Don’t let its light be stolen, but shine it where you please. Turn away from the storm and see the world as it was intended for you. Your world.

You.