Seeking Peace

There are so many ways to improve your outlook on life that it is

impossible for me to list them all here for you, but in general, there are a few simple tips I can give you that have made my enjoyment of life increase exponentially.

These are not extremely difficult things to do; solving advanced math problems or rocket science is complicated; finding peace should be simple.

It requires you to honestly look at yourself and the situations that affect how you feel and choose to let events enhance your life, not harm it.

These are three simple practices I have implemented in my own life that have made a living a much more enjoyable experience, and I think you might too. I almost guarantee it. It is all up to you.   The steps are acceptance, forgiveness, and peace, and you are on your way to happiness if you want to be.

1. Acceptance is Not Approval

The first thing you have to be able to experience is the acceptance of all that has happened. is was difficult for me because I always believed that by saying I accept a situation, I simultaneously admit the status will never change, and acceptance is not that.

Acceptance does not mean approval, consent, permission, authorization, sanction, concurrence, agreement, compliance, sympathy, endorsement, confirmation, support, ratification, assistance, or even liking whatever it is you are accepting it is merely saying, “it is what it is, and what is, is what is.

Popeye believed the same thing, “I am what I am.” and so does Patriot Coach Bill Belichick when he analyzes a game, “It is what it is.” Until you choose to accept things as they are, realizing and identifying the situation accurately, you will never be able to develop a plan to overcome an obstacle and learn what you need to learn and grow from the experience.   Acceptance is the first step and the most important because you will never get to the ultimate destination if you never start a journey.

2. Forgiveness Will Set You Free

Step two in this search for self-discovery is forgiveness. F giving someone for doing something that hurt you or someone you care about can be very difficult to do because we all internalize things that happen to us and take them personally,

but to quote an ancient Chinese Proverb, “Anger is a hot rock that burns the one who holds it.”

To me, this means that the heat of anger,  disappointment, jealousy, whatever negative emotion you associate with somebody else’s actions, you have to forgive and let go to move on with your life.

I also have learned that you don’t have to make your forgiveness known to anyone other than yourself. You don’t have to have a ceremony, a rite of passage, or even talk to anybody. All you have to do is forgive whoever you have to in your heart, and you will find you are on your way to finding peace.

If you don’t believe me, try it.   Just think about a person you feel has hurt you, then accept whatever the situation is. Then forgive them for whatever they did, or you perceived them to do, truthfully and wholeheartedly. If you are sincere, you will start to feel relief almost immediately.

You can let all of the foolishness of life and the anger that you are carrying around because of the actions of others and experience growth, allowing becoming a better version of yourself. You can even forgive yourself, which is probably one of the first places you should start.

Whatever shortcomings you have had, mistakes you have made, dreams you left disappointed, goals you haven’t reached yet, whatever angers you about yourself, forgive yourself for being human, and accept what has happened.

You will find the road that leads you where you want to go will appear to you almost magically. Forgiveness is simple, but it is never easy because we tend to hang on to things and internalize them, and they become a part of who we are.

Then when you forgive them and let them go, you fight against it because these situations have become a part of our identity, and they have become who we are, rather than something that happened to us or something we did. Forgiving everyone is what I advocate, and moving on to a better place.

3. Peace  will Find You

Thirdly, you will find the third almost without any work if you follow these two things. It will come naturally to you, like an inevitable turn in the river you are riding on, and you will encounter peace.

With peace will come freedom from the thoughts you have been carrying around with you. It is simple as thinking: I accept that experience, forgive that experience, and am free. This is where positive thinking will start to emerge in your life.

It was explained to me that just thinking positive thoughts to exclude negative ideas is challenging because you have been having those negative thoughts all your life, whatever they are.

My parents didn’t pay enough attention to me. I am weak. I am always treated poorly in relationships. I am miserable because that’s all I deserve when you accept your thoughts as what they are and forgive them; these negative thoughts are not ignored but instead transformed into ideas of a positive nature. I have found that I am happy most of the time when this happens. Peace is just another word for experiencing inner happiness about who you are, where you have been, and going.

So give this process a try, accept a situation that has hurt you and all the people involved. Forgive t m. All people do crappy things because they are people, and it’s not personal, they are just trying to live their life, and you will find a feeling of peace and understanding. Accept yourself and others for who they are and move.

Quotes About Inner Peace:

“The self is not the individual body or mind, but rather that aspect deep inside each person that knows the truth.” – Swami Vishnu Devananda

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let out a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let  o completely, you will have complete peace.” – Ajahn Chan XX century Buddhist Monk

“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment” – Lao Tzu.

“When there is light in the soul, there is beauty in the person.
There is harmony in the person when there is beauty in the house.
When there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.”-  Chinese Proverb.

“If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. If there’s no relationship with nature, then you become a killer; then you kill baby seals, whales, dolphins, and man either for gain, for “sport,” for food, or knowledge. Then, nature  is frightened of you, withdrawing its beauty.”-  Jiddu Krishnamurti

“To achieve the strength we need in living, an inner life must be lived apart from the world.
To wear the whole world as a loose garment is a key to serenity.
Loosen your hold on earth, its cares, and its worries.
Unclasp your hold on other people and material things.
Let go of resentments, they hurt only you, not the person, persons, or institutions you resent.
Relax your grip, and the tide of peace will flow in.
Live in today, not in regrets over what happened yesterday, not in the fear and apprehension of what tomorrow may bring.
The past is gone as a cloud of dust.
Tomorrow may never come.
We are faced with living just one day…today.
Try to relax, rejoice, and be glad in it!” – (Unknown Author) 

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.   – Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor)

“Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach me” – Rene Descartes.

“A man who is master of himself can mend a sorrow as he can invent a pleasure. I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to be them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” – Oscar Wild

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

“Nothing is either good, middle, or bad, but thinking makes it so” – William Shakespeare.

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.” – Henry David Thoreau.