Maintaining Your Peace At All Times
“To maintain and cultivate peace, you need to practice peace each day,” Stephanie Maat
MAINTAINING YOUR INNER PEACE
Do you have inner peace right now? Does your inner peace come and go depending on what is happening in your life? Do you long to have consistent, daily peace no matter what is happening in and around you? You can. Finding inner peace is one thing, but maintaining it is entirely different.
Inner peace is defined as the state of physical and spiritual calm despite many stressors. Finding your peace of mind means attaining happiness and contentment no matter how difficult things get in your life. Inner peace doesn’t mean a problem-free life, but it means having peace at any time.
Do you find your PEACE is being challenged more than you would like? Why is that? It could be the times we are living in, decisions we are or are not making, our thoughts, the company we are keeping with, not allowing peace to have space in our lives, not giving peace the time to work in us or we are not protecting our peace.
You bring peace with you into every environment. You don’t have to ask for permission to do so or do anything outlandish….just show up with your gift of inner peace. Have you ever met someone or walked into a situation that is filled with stress…you can just feel it even if someone doesn’t say anything. It is the same with inner peace. Let your peace change the environment around you and watch what happens. People will either receive it or reject it. And it is not your problem!
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” —Dalai Lama
Cultivate Your Inner Peace
Part of maintaining your peace is cultivating peace in your life…daily!
CUL.TI.VATE - 1. Prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening. 2. Try to acquire or develop (a quality, sentiment, or skill).
HAVE YOU EVER…Taken a class to explore a new hobby or to develop your career? Taken an exercise class to enhance your health? Taken a personality or strengths test to learn more about yourself? Planted a garden?
Perfecting or cultivating your inner peace is up to you. No one can do it for you. You have the tools and wisdom within you right now to cultivate your inner peace. It needs to be intentional and decided by you. Are you ready?
Just like you need tools to cultivate a garden, here are some tools to cultivate your inner peace:
✨Grade yourself on your peacefulness (1 low – 10 high). Why did you pick that number?
✨How can you move the scale closer to 10 or above?
✨What makes you feel peaceful?
✨Make a plan. If you know the things that trigger you, make a plan so they won’t trigger you or if you have a tough day ahead, make a plan to flow in peace, not in stress and anxiety.
✨Be present. Being in the moment is one of the best ways to find happiness and inner peace.
✨Stop worrying about what you cannot control or see.
✨Practice forgiveness.
✨Have fun and laugh. Peace without fun is like being rich without friends.
What would you add to this list?
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
HOLD ON TO YOUR INNER PEACE
I have watched my son play football his entire life. So, as you can imagine we are a football family. It is all about the “football.” It is passed, fumbled, chased, tackled, and kicked down the field. Sounds like some life moments, doesn’t it?
So what do PEACE and football have in common? Picture your inner PEACE like a football. Life comes at us from many directions, proposing many challenges and obstacles, financial concerns, professional setbacks, people who are not for us, and unexpected “life happens” moments. Our PEACE can get kicked around if we are not intentional about holding on to it, protecting it, refusing to give it up, and developing it.
“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let’s be intentional with our gift of PEACE. You know when your PEACE tank is full and you know when it is depleted. Guard it like the football player guards the football as he runs down the field toward the goal line.
In time, when we are in a good place with our inner PEACE, we can joyfully PASS it on to others.
How do you hold on to your inner PEACE?
THIS I KNOW…
Your inner PEACE is contagious. I remember many years ago my former boss/mentor was sitting in my work office and she said “I just want to sit here….there is such peace here.”
First, woohoo! Second, I wanted my “space” to represent PEACE. I have to be INTENTIONAL with my PEACE due to the challenges that come with different environments. Change the atmosphere with your inner PEACE.
✅Spend time with others. Let them sit in your presence of PEACE. Fear can isolate people so getting them out of that space and into your space of PEACE will be life changing. ✅Give a compliment. ✅Volunteer. ✅Look around you and PASS IT ON!
Lastly, remember the PEACE of God is the umpire of your heart. It is true. We have an internal umpire called PEACE. As you know, for a sporting event an umpire lets you know what the rules or boundaries are or arbitrates matters that may seem unclear. PEACE gives us the correct perspective by being the umpire of our hearts. God’s PEACE lets us know when we're safe and when we're out of bounds. When we have peace in our hearts, we are able to discern the perfect will of God for our lives. On the other hand, in the absence of peace, there is turmoil and confusion. Anytime you feel unsettled about something, ask yourself “do I have PEACE right now?” And if not, adjust. My friend….FOLLOW PEACE!❤️
Colossians 3:15 in the Amplified says, "And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state]…"