The pursuit of peace.
We run at a fast pace. No, we’re not washing clothes by hand and churning butter anymore. We’re not digging up chunks of dirt to build ourselves a sod house by our own hands. We’re not walking four miles for water and then carrying it back home four miles. I’m not saying that we have it hard because the fact is, we most certainly don’t. We have every convenience. Washing machines. Home delivery for the groceries. Mini mansions. Running water. Cars. Cars that start themselves. Car doors that unlock themselves. Technology has made our lives physically easier than every generation before us and easier than many countries around the world today.
But we run at a face pace. Everything is instant. There’s a cost for convenience and, ironically, it’s time. Everyday is go, go, go. Because things are convenient and easier, they are quicker. And then, we move quicker as a result.
There’s that moment when you wish you could hide away for a bit. Turn it all off. We even talk like this. “Get away from it all” is a common expression for each of us. We crave quiet and solitude, simplicity and a more relaxed pace.
For some of you, that’s playing Solitaire. For some, it’s popping in ear buds to block out the world and listening to a pod cast. Going for a run. A hot bath or climbing into bed and pulling the covers up over your head. It can also be touch. A massage or a skincare treatment in a quiet, private, relaxing environment can satisfy our need to unplug, unwind, decompress and chill out. Touch helps. It calms and soothes and helps get those feel good serotonins flowing.
Find time for peace. Whatever your peace looks like. The pursuit of personal peace makes the world a a little bit of a better place. Really. If we’re more chill, we’re easier on others and indirectly, it gets paid forward. In this way, giving yourself an hour of inner peace benefits the peace of your people as well. It might be a stretch, as you’re getting a skincare treatment, to say “I’m doing it for my family” but with a little imagination and a sense of humour, one could almost make the case for it.