Inner Peace

“Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
—Saint Francis De Sales

There are a few things we can count on in this world and one of those is that sometimes we will have a bad day for no apparent reason, or basically that things won’t always go the way we want them to no matter how hard we try or what we do.

But if we have true inner peace, when the storms of life hit us, we will be able to remain calm in the midst of it knowing that no matter what, we will be okay. We can remain peaceful knowing that no amount of anxiety or worry is going to change a situation.

Having inner peace is something that most likely has to be developed. It’s based on trust and faith. Usually we have it after experiences have taught us that it is possible to be at peace when things get crazy outside of ourselves.

Many times when we feel like we are going to lose control, our temper, or otherwise “freak out,” we can be reminded that it is okay to relieve our stress in healthy ways. That won’t make us lose our inner peace. We can cry and scream if we need to. Maybe we can work our frustration out on a punching bag, or go for a long hike or run.

Prayer and meditation have been proven to be effective means of gaining and keeping inner peace. Self-love — including a good level of self-esteem — and inner peace go hand in hand. We can’t have inner peace if we don’t feel capable of making good decisions or if we are behaving in unhealthy ways.

Some of the other keys to having and keeping inner peace involve forgiveness and acceptance. Knowing that others aren’t any more perfect than we are and allowing them to be that way. We also understand our humanness and allow ourselves to make mistakes without being too hard on us.

Knowing our limits by having the ability to say no when we are overwhelmed and yes when that is a good answer for us will also allow for inner peace. Just as unexpected events can draw on our reserves, so too can things we knowingly put ourselves in the middle of. Being aware of what we are doing, living a conscience life is also essential to having inner peace.

There are things outside of our control and within our control that can take away from or add to our inner peace. It’s up to us to decide if having inner peace is something we desire. If it is we will be willing to do what it takes to have it.

Inner peace takes effort, but so does the opposite.