What Does Inner Peace Mean to You?

Living in today’s society has prompted me to question the meaning of real peace and the possibility of human beings ever co-existing and living in a peaceful, harmonious environment.

Peace is loosely defined as a stress-free state of security and calmness where there is no fighting. Wikipedia further defines it as “an occurrence of harmony characterized by lack of violence, conflict behaviours, and the freedom from fear of violence. It is the absence of hostility and retribution and suggests sincere attempts at reconciliation, the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, equality and a working political order that serves the true interests of all.”

To me peace means inner harmony and balance. Unfortunately we cannot control the choices of other people who choose hatred, violence and fighting to express their anger against the world. However we can control our own reality.

I invite you to think about what inner peace means to you. It is a very important question because you are more likely to find inner peace when you know what you’re looking for. Your definition of peace should be real and practical for your own personal circumstances. It should be something that you take with you into your daily reality. Inner peace is the knowledge that you can respond to your challenges with presence and awareness. It is about trusting yourself and knowing who you are and where you are tracking.

Letting go of emotional baggage, gaining closure, facing fears, doubts, worries, limitations and barriers will all contribute to inner peace. It means replacing negative beliefs and attitudes with positive and empowering ones and cultivating new and positive habits.

With inner peace, navigating the world becomes easier. This doesn’t mean no conflict at all but rather coping with conflict in the midst of staying true to ourselves.

This month’s mantra is by his holiness the Dalai Lama:

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make inner peace with ourselves.”

It all starts with self.

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