Peace, peace, peace

As we speak I am trying to pick myself up from an emotional rubble. Like the survivor that I am, I always find means to give myself a peace of mind and to make myself happy through Christ who strengthens me. Besides the situation in my life it is not an understatement to say peace of mind is the next sought after 'commodity' in human life second to love. It appears that most of us are in a state of perpetual restlessness, strain, rush or stress which hinders us from attaining peace of mind. Our minds are in constant chatter thinking about this and that and as long as that chatter is there in our minds we can't have peace of mind. In spite of challenging times in my own life and in the world around me, I have learnt to be a person who lives with serenity and tranquility.

This is how I always manage to reclaim my peace of mind and happiness.
1.
I wake up at 5:30am everyday and give myself thirty minutes to connect to God and meditate about my life and what I want to do on that day. In my early morning prayer I always personalize Paul's prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 for myself saying, “May the Lord of peace himself give me peace at all times and in every way.” I also take the advice of the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, “Give thanks in all circumstances,” so even during trying times I give thanks to God with a prayer that says, “I thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.” For areas of life that are beyond my control, I place them in God’s hands, by copying the psalm writer who prayed, "My times are in your hands” in Psalm 31:15. By the
time I go and bath at 6:00am I would be feeling at peace with God as well as with myself.

2.
As I bath and afterwards when I am dressing up and eating my breakfast I will be listening to my personal collection of soft soothing music which always manages to make me relax, put me in a good state of mind and organize my thoughts for the day. I have always thought that music is the best thing that happened to us humans; nothing beats the peace of mind- making capabilities of soft music.

3.
As I go about my normal day to day living I use the following lessons I learnt in life as I grew up to create peace of mind and happiness for myself.
I have noted that often it is the loss of balance and perspective about life that increases stress and anxiety so I always adopt the attitude that my cup is half full, not half empty and whenever I feel inclined to be sorry for myself I think of the multitudes of people who are worse of than me. Life gave me the insight that a happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes so I always maintain a happy attitude no matter what sort of circumstances I am in. Let me admit that even though I invariably appear to be cheerful, I don't always feel that way but I always act as if I am joyful and exude joy towards those with whom I have contact. The joy I give out will be the joy that returns to me, it is like a boomerang--a little blessed boomerang.
When I have been slighted, offended, or insulted, I trained myself to forgive quickly and generously since life taught me that remembering wrongs and reviewing retribution can be tiresome burdens to carry. So I always let go of resentment and
relinquish the need of retribution. In so doing, I discovered that the weight of anger and hostility is lifted out of my life.
Life also taught me that inevitably, people who experience peace and serenity have
some of the following characteristics of inner peace: a loss of interest in judging others; limited ability to worry; overwhelming episodes of appreciation; frequent attacks of smiling; feeling connected to others and with self; increased openness to receive love as well as an uncontrollable urge to extend it and a loss of interest in conflict and argumentation. By incorporating these characteristics into myself I cultivate some inner peace which I maintain by always thinking of the wisdom from the apostle Paul in Romans 8:6 which says, “The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
Over the years I have come to the realization that I shouldn’t get caught up in giving priority chasing after superficial goals such as materialism & wealth. Such a chase should be done in moderation because letting it rule my life can become emotionally exhausting. So I live by principles that encourage chasing after the finer issues in life like love, peace and happiness which happen to be the issues that produce contentment in my life and are most important for me. This was consolidated by my belief that I don't need to have what "everyone" else has in order to enjoy life because trying to keep up with others can break me financially and emotionally so I am always happy with what I have at that particular moment whilst working towards attaining more.

4.
All throughout my day I let the following wisdom of people who inspire me
guide me.
There is the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi who said, “'When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall.” This saying makes me believe in truth and love at all times which results in my happiness.
Martin Luther King observed that, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that," His observation inspires me to live and walk in the light always.
A certain William Penn once wrote, “I expect to pass through this world but once and any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” His philosophy inspires me to be kind to others at all times.
The writer James Thurber encourages me to live in the present with his saying, “Let us not look back in anger, or forward in tear, but around in awareness”
Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets said “I believe in taking a positive attitude
toward the world.... My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better than when I got here.” I have adopted his belief and always aim to make the world the best place to live in.
The great visionary Mahatma Gandhi’s famous saying, “Be the change that you want to see in the world”, urges me to act towards my vision of the better world I want to live in and the life I want to lead.
Bob Marley in his Redemption song said that, “None but ourselves can free our minds” and this phrase makes me realize that no one but myself is responsible for creating the kind of environment that induces a peace of mind and happiness in my life.

5.
I have my own set of cardinal principles that guide my every action and reaction,
with an underlying motive of walking the talk of my vision of peace, love and happiness unto the whole world, starting with my own life.
These are as follows:
I always maintain my personal integrity by being myself and saying what I mean, and
meaning what I say. Duplicity is stressful so I always avoid that trip and so exemplify the values I profess to admire.
I don't have to do everything; I don't have to agree to accept every request that comes my way. “No, thank you” can be the three-word sentence that gives me a less hectic schedule and more peace of mind.
I practice self care because life taught me that my ability to deal with stress increases as I take care of myself. I do this by eating nutritious, balanced meals, by exercising, and by getting enough sleep.
I always make sure that my supper time is peaceful. I never eat standing up; I don't
wolf my food down or pace myself at mealtime, I sit down to a table carefully set with china and silverware, light a candle, decorate the table with a floral arrangement and offer a prayer of thanks for the meal and then eat carefully and consciously whilst conversing to my family or occasionally friends.
Nothing else except soft music beats this in terms of inducing peace of mind and happiness in my life.
I aim to finish what I start because there is nothing that steals my peace of mind and happiness more than the thought of an unfinished something; it keeps occupying my mind and hinders me from gaining peace from a still mind.
I love nature and discovered long back that spending time in the outdoors is a remedy for almost any soul sickness and I take advantage of this natural therapy by gardening or going outdoors simply to appreciate God’s great art in nature, or by simply taking a leisurely stroll through a nearby park so as to breath in the fresh beautiful scents of nature. Stimulating the olfactory senses with nature can be a real spirit soother that smells of serenity. Talking of nature, the moon has always bailed me out of stress. During nights when I am feeling so down, longing for a loving human embrace from someone I love and who equally loves me to chase away
my stress and make me feel like a woman, I gaze out of the window at the cloudless
night and look at the moon and use my mind to picture a river of moonlight. I then
imagine loading my anxieties and concerns into a hot air balloon and letting it float away to the moon with all my stresses. This results in me feeling at peace with nature and myself. The moon looks so serene such that I have always believed that it is immune to the troubles on earth.
Last but not least I always get my daily dose of humour by finding something in my
daily life to joke and laugh about because life taught me that humor lightens the load of life and reduces anxieties.

Armed with all this wisdom that I learnt throughout the many years I have been on this earth it is so easy for me to have the aura of serenity and tranquility around me that most people comment and admire about me. Behind that serene facade that people see and admire only God knows the storms that will be raging in my life.