Well Being is the Goal; Peace is the Proof

Your soul is thirsty for well-being. The true goal of our lives is to gain the experience of inner peace that exists despite external circumstances from the past, present, or future.

Once it’s yours, it promotes right relationships with all things and fellow beings.

The pure experience of this way of being transforms the soul so that selfishness falls away. You do not want to be the only one knowing this comfort and strength.

When this state of being has fully taken root in you, you will be able to transmit this calm and loving state of being to others, as if you were sowing seeds. This is what it means to become a peacemaker.

Well-being within brings physical benefits as well as emotional ones. Many of our addictions, whether it be over-spending, over-working, over-eating, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, or anything else done in excess without regard for the consequences, have their roots in an emotional state we are trying to banish from our psyche.

Once the skills that naturally lead to well-being are mastered, we no longer spend our time frantically trying to outrun our emotional challenges. We turn to face them and have the power to master them, however unpleasant, knowing the reward of inner peace is worth the work.

An abundance of time and energy is restored to us which we can invest in building our lives instead of simply enduring them.

So why isn’t everyone doing this?

Uncertainty.

We don’t know which simple things to do to build our peace. Our teachers are missing or haven’t mastered the lessons themselves.

Over the last three decades we’ve received a wealth of awareness about emotional literacy and its role in well-being. Unfortunately, that knowledge hasn’t translated into people being more emotionally literate, sound, or mature. As a professional, I see people drowning in information without knowing how to meaningfully absorb the truths of it.

We are now also into the second or third generation of modern culture that drops its kids off at daycare, sends them to large group settings for academic instruction, and sets them in front of electronic devices for entertainment. These were previously the hours of one’s life where you were connected to people who had a stake in how you grew up, often while laboring together and having time to talk.

Tender care, deep attention, and massive repetition are required for compassion, courage, justice, and honesty to mature in us. These four key elements of character don’t spring up automatically in most souls, they must be cultivated.

This series of posts for the coming month are designed to mark the trail that leads to peace. Look for the information that sparks your aha! moments. Some posts, but probably not all, will help adjust the lens of your mind so you can see your path with more clarity.

If your heart leapt at the first sentence of this post, “Your soul is thirsty for well-being,” then the lessons provided in April are for you– and for those you care about most– for moving forward into a life that is peaceful no matter what must be experienced.

Peace is possible, every day.