Peace Is A Choice

When I think about peace and tranquility, I often have the mental image of a Yogi doing meditation under some tree in a remote place in the world—or on top of a lotus flower. Peace is a luxury of those who do not live in the western rat race. I have told myself in the past that I am too busy for peace, that I have too many obligations to sit still for 15 minutes in silence. Nevertheless, I am learning to change my thought system.

Can peace really be achieved? To me, peace means intentionally slowing down on the inside so that you concentrate on the little things like taking a deep breath even when your world is going a million miles an hour on the outside. In every moment of the day (especially when my kids are screaming), I must make the conscious decision of not getting stressed out by the never ending to-do list and the self imposed deadlines. Peace is a choice. It means restructuring my life. I have found that meditation is about turning your life from a reactionary model to a proactive model. Instead of just getting up in the morning and starting into my day, it means sitting in silence and pondering my vexation, slowing down my heart rate, and paying attention to the parts of my body that hurt. In these quiet moments of self talk I achieve a clarity that sets the stage for everything that happens later in the day. Over the last 3 years, I have become addicted to meditation and doing the ‘Course in Miracles’. Meditation saves me from being a crazy mom and a frantic person. I am no longer backing my car into trees or running around in a panic. Instead, every morning I intentionally wake up before the kids to have my solitude. It is like getting a massage for the brain every morning. Quite frankly, meditation is my morning cup of coffee. Without it I am lost.