Finding Peace is different for everyone, but there are common threads. We all seek peace, especially in times of crisis: health scares, major injury, financial crisis, mid-life crisis, the loss of someone close, divorce, etc. When in the throws of crisis, all we want is peace. While we cannot bring peace to the entire world (more on that in another post), we can bring peace to ourselves.
You cannot bring peace to someone else – this is key. IF they are looking for peace, and ask you for advice, however, then you can help. Here’s the big point: you must heal your own soul before you can heal others.
Peace comes in many forms, each important to your sense of overall peace.
Financial Peace
Financial peace (thank you, Dave Ramsey), means being debt free, with a solid game plan, regular budget practices and competent tracking to stay on plan. It does not mean being “rich”. You will find peace with your money as soon as you are on a solid plan to eliminate your debt and save for your future (kids college, retirement, life dream, etc). It is not just for the sake of mansions, cars and status symbols. Desire for status is a sign that you feel inferior and need to heal that before you move on. Financial peace is for the sake of feeling safe, having a dream for your future and a financial way to get there.
Physical Peace
Physical peace means accepting your body as it is but taking steps to be healthy. It does not mean seeking some unattainable ideal, but working towards a goal of health that you have defined for yourself and that you work towards in ways that give you joy. It means loving yourself enough to take care of your health. Again, just having plan and being on track makes all the difference.
Emotional Peace
Emotional peace is about healing past pain, releasing fear and limiting beliefs, and stopping self-sabotage. It’s about reprogramming your mind towards positive thoughts and feelings, freed from the past and focused on the now. It’s about addressing family issues, friend issues, and self-issues. All that baggage has to be unpacked.
Mental Peace
Mental peace is different from emotional peace. Mental peace is about focusing your time and attention on who and what gives your joy, forwards your mission, or helps you grow. It’s about removing from your time and attention, anything or anyone that causes you pain, sadness or feelings of unworthiness.
Spiritual Peace
Spiritual peace is about actively exploring and seeking the true nature of your soul. It’s about choosing or finding your purpose and actively working towards it. Because purpose is soul-deep. It’s about actively working to evolve your understanding and your relationship to the universe/God/Allah/Divine.
This all seems like a lot of work – and IT IS; but is it work that is well worth the effort. How can you find peace for yourself through these channels? Which will you try first?
