A Life of Peacefulness

A Life of Peacefulness

By Leo Babauta

Most of us want a greater sense of peace(pēs) and ease(ēz) in our lives — life can be stressful(ˈstresfəl), chaotic(kāˈätik), overwhelming(ˌōvərˈ(h)welmiNG), full of distractions(disˈtrakSHən), exhausting(igˈzôstiNG).

We want to get away from all of that, exit(ˈegzit,ˈeksit) the madness(ˈmadnəs), and get to a place of greater peace.

I’m going to share how to find that life of peacefulness in one simple method(ˈmeTHəd). In a minute.

First let’s look at the biggest mistake we make: trying to escape(iˈskāp) the stress and chaos(ˈkāˌäs).

To escape the chaos, we do a lot of things:

Try to get our world in order, trying to control everything

Distract(disˈtrakt) ourselves, because it’s all too much

Comfort ourselves from the stress, with TV, food, drink, drugs(drəg), social media

Hide from all the things we do, try not to think about it all

Complain(kəmˈplān) about it, about the burden(ˈbərdn) of it all

End a relationship, an arrangement(əˈrānjmənt), a commitment(kəˈmitmənt), because you don’t want to feel bad anymore

Stress out, rush(rəSH), constantly(ˈkänstəntlē) feel busy

You might recognize(ˈrekigˌnīz,ˈrekə(g)ˌnīz) some of your reactions to stress and chaos in this list, or maybe you have other strategies(ˈstratəjē). But in the end, it’s all about trying to escape, to exit, a desire(dəˈzī(ə)r) to get away from it all and get a sense of peace.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get away from difficulty or pain. If you’re in true danger or abuse(əˈbjuz), get out. But most of the time, it might be a path of growth to not exit. To stay, to face the stress and chaos with a sense of bravery(ˈbrāv(ə)rē). And then to find peace in the middle of the chaos.

You can create a life of peacefulness in the middle of this overwhelming, stressful, busy, chaotic world. If you don’t run, but instead find the fearlessness to be with it fully.

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https://zenhabits.net/peacefulness/