Inner Peace

“Nothing can bring you Peace, but yourself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I speak about finding inner peace, I remind everyone that they have the power within themselves.  Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz states. “We have more power to succeed than we think or realize. You had the power all along, my dear.”  This perspective is that inner peace is something we already possess but need to cultivate.  Yet why is it so difficult for many of us to find this inner peace?

When challenges arise in life, as they always do, the mindset of “If I can just get through this day, or this week” might come to mind. This thought process does not suggest a feeling of inner peace. Peace is not the end of challenges, because another challenge is around the corner. If we can start to view the challenges as opportunities, it changes how we deal with what is happening. It is no longer a negative and a struggle to get through. The image of the ocean always represents inner peace to me. The bottom of the ocean is always calm, but the surface can be choppy or flat or a tsunami of a wave. With practice, we can find in ourselves the bottom of the ocean, calm, tranquil and more accepting. Riding the next wave, instead of fighting the rip current. Once we recognize that life is full of opportunities, that feeling of inner peace becomes more of our nature.