Our Daily Peace
If there is something I believe to be extremely difficult to conquer, but even more challenging to sustain, it is the so-called inner peace. Since it is a concept so difficult to attain, it has become commonplace for people to search for it in courses, seminars, books, and lectures, which most of the time come with a price tag, but do not deliver on their promises.
Inner peace has been addressed in the past by a variety of philosophies, doctrines and religions. Nowadays the "novelties" of the so-called New Age have been bringing new concepts and approaches. However, the vast majority of the population is still unable to reach the remotest glimpse of the much-desired peace.
And what would be the reasons for such failure? Such difficulty suggests that, for various reasons, we may be in an on-going experience of situations opposed to peace. In other words, we are in constant state of conflict. And unfortunately, many times, in a frequent state of inner war. Such conflicts (or wars) cause recurrent suffering of all kinds to us and, much worse, to those around us. Because of these sufferings, we feel frustrated, anxious, anguished and sometimes even depressed.
To better understand why it is so difficult to achieve such peace, or not to be able to maintain it for long, it is first necessary to understand why we are in a constant state of war. Or, even more challenging, against whom we are at war with.
I then propose the following mental exercise; Think of the world around us as being divided by different levels of ability or power we may have to control situations, events, and outcomes. We are exactly at the center of this imaginary universe, and the closer we are to the center, the greater our power to control what takes place.
In the first perimeter, we may list things that are totally under our control. The activities most directly connected with our decision-making power are involved in this circle. What time I'll wake up, what I'll eat for breakfast, what time I'll leave for work, what tasks I'll perform first; These are just some of the most common examples of this area of power. However, this list also includes actions of greater consequence. Will I start a healthier diet? Will I read edifying books? Will I exercise to improve my health? Will I accept the job offer that will bring me a salary increase, but will make me move to another city/state/country?
All these decisions will have ramifications, and things will not always turn out as we expected. When things don’t come out as we wanted, as a rule, we declare some wars. First, we usually look for something or someone to blame. I was late because someone didn't wake me up. I didn’t do this because the boss didn't tell me it was a priority. I'm fat because nowadays foods are full of sugar. I don't have money for the gym (but there is some for the Saturday night drinks). We rebel against those we elected as guilty, and wage battles against the world around us. When we don't blame others, we blame ourselves and, almost invariably, declare civil war, recriminating and labeling ourselves incompetent, destroying our self-esteem and commonly getting into a negative spiral that can bring us more serious crises and even worse decisions.
In a second perimeter are the things that are out of our control, but that may, most of the time, be influenced by us. These are usually situations in which someone else is in control of the decisions, but we want to direct them towards an outcome that best satisfies us. In this sphere of events, we are usually frustrated when our influence is insufficient, does not have the desired effect, and the decision of others points to a different direction. We do not accept the fact that we are powerless in the face of the stronger currents that have dragged the end result away from our goals. Commonly, the declaration of war is immediate because we do not accept the fact that we do not have decision-making power over the situation or person. In a totally irrational and selfish way, we seek to control everything and everyone, which is obviously impossible. In these contexts, when our controlling impulses are exaggerated, our declarations of war often cause ruptures or, at least, some distancing, and we suffer the consequences once again.
Finally, we come to the sphere of events in which we have neither control nor influence. Natural disasters, changes in government regimes, wars between countries, death of loved ones, are just a few examples. And in these cases, unfortunately, we sometimes declare the worst of all irrational wars, which is the war against God. We blame him for what happened, we rebel against him, and give room for the worst of splits, distancing ourselves from the acceptance of divine providence.
In all of the above situations, whether in the sphere of control, in the zone of influence, or in the area of destiny, in an undesired frequency, we refuse to accept the “no’s” of life and declare war against the supposed antagonists. War against ourselves, against others, against circumstances, and even against God. And in doing that, day after day, conflict after conflict, we distance ourselves from the desired peace.
What if we change our approach and start taking responsibility, in a healthy and positive way, over the results of our actions? If things didn't go as planned, we try again, this time with more experience. No crises, no victimization, no guilt, no civil war. And what if we accept that everyone has their own free will, that we do not control the results of games or elections, that we do not control the destinies of others, and make peace with the world when it takes an unwanted turn? Let us remember that nothing lasts forever. And finally, what if we cultivate a genuine and true faith in God's designs, humbly accepting and making peace with the fact that, at least for now, we will not fully understand its ways and decisions?
If we succeed in not declaring such pointless wars, perhaps we will have a chance of achieving our goal. In each sphere of action, a different kind of peace is required. And as the Master said in the greatest sermon of all time, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
World peace starts within each of us. Ready to raise the white flag?
