Finding Your Peace

5 ways to help find your inner peace.

No matter what stage of life you are in, it is always beneficial to have peace. Peace can be in yourself, your body, or just overall wellness. Achieving overall peace is a bit tedious unless your plan is to become a Buddhist Monk (more power to you if it is). I myself have put into practice many of these suggestions and have found that my life has improved from their implementation. Granted, when you are in the lowest point of your life, anything is an improvement. However, from a day to day outlook, I do find that I am more "at peace" with my mind and situation in life. So here are "5 ways to find peace" in our everyday lives.

5 ways to find some inner peace:

5. Declutter

This may seem like a no brainer, but many people don't take into an account that your environment is directly linked to your mental health. Clutter room = clutter mind. This is why some people, myself included, stress clean. In times of stress cleaning up your immediate surroundings can help you become more creative, help problem solving skills, and yes, destress you! This is why our moms growing up always had a spring cleaning on the first saturday in spring. It wasn't just for her (but let's be honest, it helped her a lot) it was for the benefit of the whole family. Cleaning up the "past" in preparation for a "fresh" future.

4. Learn a new skill/Take up a new hobby

Of course we have our hobbies we've been doing since we were children, but learning something new and challenging is a great way to ease your mind. It forces you to solely focus your mind on that one task. Leaving no room for outside thoughts that can bring you back into stress. I for one have been teaching myself to play the guitar. This was actually recommended to my by a friend who was gracious enough to let me borrow theirs. I play around 10-20 minutes a day learning new chords and teaching myself songs. It's now become a part of my daily life.

3. Therapy/Taking Responsibility

This is probably the most difficult of the suggestions but the only long term, successful ways, to achieve inner peace. I find that therapy is a great way to get out all the thoughts in your head that are "taking up" precious space. During the times I can't make a session, a journal is a great replacement for jotting down my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and more. It is also what you do in therapy that is just as equally as important. Showing up is half the battle, putting in the work is the rest. Therapy can be used as a tool for dealing with past trauma, current stressors in your life, and as a way of taking responsibility of yourself and actions. We are not perfect human beings. We all make mistakes and hurt people, but we are the ones in charge of fixing ourselves so that we don't hurt ourselves, and others, in the future.

2. Meditate/Yoga

I have found a love for meditation and yoga that I didn't think was possible. The art of yoga has centuries worth of ritual practice that proves how it can alter the mind and body. Yoga requires the participant to be fully immersed in your mind and body. Setting intentions, focusing on your breath, and executing the moves all require intense focus. In this focus, you find peace. It is almost like "taking up a new hobby". You are so focus at the task at hand that you tune out the rest of the world. In meditation, you are aware and not aware. You focus on your thoughts, how you feel, what your body is feeling, and what you hope to achieve out of this session. The best place for meditation is in nature.

1. Spend time in Nature

Nature is a time proven method for finding inner peace. There are blogs, literature (classic and new), movies, and more about how nature is healing. We see people take backpack trips across Europe, South America, and the world to "find themselves". What I think they are actually finding is peace. However, you don't have to trek across the world to find some peace in nature. Walking around your neighborhood, going for a hike (if it has a hill, it's a hike), or sitting outside taking in the sun are just some ways I spend time outside. I'll take my journal, listen to music or a podcast, even just lay in total silence on some grass to find a little peace in my life.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c9ed34_7da240301f5a457db556bd64cb97c587/720p/mp4/file.mp4

(Enjoy this video of me on a hike)

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. —John Burroughs

Life is messy and stressful, and hard to find peace in. Especially if you are a student, a mother, working full time, a caretaker, and more. But taking some time each day to focus on yourself, your body, and your mind is essential. You may never achieve inner peace like the Dalai Lama, but you can definitely have at least ten minutes of it each day. Hopefully these suggestions find their way to someone who needs it. Just like they found me.