“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Inner peace refers to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. Being "at peace" is considered by many to be healthy, and the opposite of being stressed or anxious.
Each of us strives for peace in our own way. What is peaceful for one person may be stressful for another. This point is illustrated by the following story:
“There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace.
Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
“One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky full of fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
“The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
“But when the king looked closely, he saw a tiny bush growing in a crack in the wall. In the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the middle of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on the nest – in perfect peace.
“The king chose the second picture.” Author unknown
Lasting inner peace isn’t something that just randomly happens to us. And it doesn’t always look like we think it should. It is something we need to work at and often create. We need to choose peace, because it may not choose us.
I wish you peace in all you do.
“Your inner peace is the greatest and most valuable treasure that you can discover.” Akin Olokun
Portions of this blog are adapted from a blog by Chris Cade.com.
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