Peace
This shot was taken right outside my deck yesterday evening around 7pm. It was right before the sun was going down.
Usually, when we’re under pressure, sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the smaller things in life. In my case, when I’m stressed out or full of anxiety, I take a lot of things for granted. I forget how good it can be if I “let it”. There are many people who believe we create our own anxiety- our own chaos that literally drives us to drink. The theory is that we “choose” to stress over something, or that we “choose” to be depressed about a certain situation. I believe this to be true.
To have peace around us, what do we need? We need peace from within us. If we don’t have peace within us, then we can’t have peace in our environment. It’s the same concept as, if we don’t have love within us, or love ourselves enough, we cannot expect to love someone else. If we don’t have money, we can’t give it away, right?
At times, when I find myself drawing farther away from God, my life gets static. It’s full of things that irritate me. I can’t hear God’s message. Everything, everyone and everywhere I go, seems to have a negative effect on me. I blame it on all three. “Well, if this didn’t happen, I would be so upset”, or “If he/she didn’t do that all the time, I wouldn’t be so annoyed,” and, “If I didn’t have to be ‘here’, I wouldn’t be so agitated!”
I’m learning more and more, that when you create peace within yourself, you learn to develop tolerance. Life is going to be chaotic no matter where we go, what we do, or who we may run into. We need to deal with it at hand and learn to react better to certain situations, instead of grumbling over the small stuff. I’m still in the learning process of it all. I may not be perfect, but I’m slowly realizing what it takes to become a calmer and more peaceful person. It takes time, and like the human I am, I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
Through prayer, meditation, and putting aside time to regroup, I’m able to maintain a level of peace in my life.
What’s your technique?
Update: Thanks to all your much needed prayers, the doctors told Madelene's mom that there wasn't anything on her pancreas. The tests indicated that there was a mass on her pancreas, but through prayers and the healing of God--He has baffled the doctors! Thank you so much for all of you who've prayed and sent good thoughts our way!