What the Heck is Inner Peace Anyway?

What the Heck IS Inner Peace Anyway?

I know you want it… everyone does. (This post follows from my last Inner Peace post, which you can read here.)

At least, pretty much everyone who comes to me for a Strategy Session says that they want it.

I think that this image below captures what we want. Peace. Quiet. Beauty. Tranquility. 

She has it all. This is clearly Inner Peace.

Or is it? Is this really what peace looks like?

Is this what inner peace looks like?

Let's look at what is REALLY going on here:

1. She's young, beautiful, and in shape.

This is what our culture tells us we should all be aiming for. We should aim to be as young as possible, as thin as possible, as fit as possible, and as beautiful as possible. 

And when I say 'as possible' I'm being generous. What we're really told is that we should be MORE. MORE young. MORE thin. MORE fit. And MORE beautiful.

Wherever you are now, it isn't good enough. Do you have 150 pounds to lose? You're not good enough. 10 pound to lose? You're still not good enough.

We're held up to this impossible standard of perfection and told that we need to want MORE, MORE, MORE.

And that it's only when we have MORE, MORE, MORE that we'll actually be able to be happy and have inner peace.

The problem with MORE is that it's a comparative term. There is no place where we can stop and say, "Yes. Now I have my more and I'm finished." The problem with MORE is that there is always MORE MORE we can be striving for.

That's a surefire way to ensure that you NEVER have Inner Peace.

2. She's alone.

How often are you alone? Really alone.

If you're like most of us, your days are spent running as fast as you can, making sure that everyone's life is kept together and that your home and business are kept together and that your MORE is being taken care of.

How's that working for you?

If we don't figure out how to get some time alone, we will NEVER find the Inner Peace we think we want.

3. There is nothing around her.

More accurately, there is NO THING around her. No one and no thing to take care of, to make demands on her time, or to stress her out.

She floats in a sea of calm and tranquility with no thing to disturb her Inner Peace.

If you have anything that you need to care for, and I would bet that you do, then this is an unattainable goal.

Does that mean that Inner Peace is beyond your reach forever?

4. She has time to meditate.

Which very people seem to have the time to do. We live in a culture that is suffering from an epidemic of busy-ness. 

Sadly, it has become a badge of honour and one of the only acceptable excuses to de-commit from what we have committed to.

"Hey, can you help out with this?"

"Oh gosh, sorry, no. I'm just way too busy."

We wear it like a ribbon. Too busy too busy too busy tra la la…

It's b*llsh*t. Totally and completely.

It isn't something to be proud of. It means your life is out of balance and that you have no room to do the things that you want to do because you are too busy doing all the things you think you have to do. Or that you do have the time but that this is something you don't really want to do and you're simply too much of a chickensh*t to admit it.

Why does this woman call out to us? Because she has boundaries, that's why. She has no more time than any of us but she has MADE TIME, SET ASIDE TIME to do what is important. To get quiet and to connect with her Self and her Source.

5. Did I mention that she's alone?

She has the ability to set boundaries. To turn off her cel phone. To get quiet. To tell the rest of the world to take care of itself for a few minutes while she re-Sources.

Do you do this on a regular basis? Most of the people I talk to… don't.

So… what the heck is Inner Peace anyway?

Here's what I think:

Inner Peace is not a state of perfection where you have arrived. When you are young and beautiful and fit and thin and alone with no thing and no one to care for.

Inner Peace is achieved when you stop battling against that voice inside of you that is giving you guidance.

Period.

That's what it is. That's what it looks like.

It doesn't mean that life will be perfect. 

It doesn't mean that we will never have to deal with an annoying situation or person.

It doesn't mean that we will never be hurt again.

Far from it.

That is life.

And life will keep happening. As long as we're breathing.

Life is tough. It's hard.

We have to make hard choices. Terrible things happen. People do crazy, hurtful things. Like leave us. Or get sick. Or die. The world does some crazy, terrible things.

This isn't about perfection.

It's about peace.

And you get peace when you realize that, no matter what happens, you will be okay.

You'll be okay because deep inside of you there is a nugget of truth and joy that rejoices in the privilege of being alive. Of being able to draw one more breath. And one more. And one more.

Inner Peace isn't a place where we have perfection.

It's where we have declared a truce with our Self.

Chaos might reign outside but inside we have surrendered.

Surrendered to our purpose and to our passion.

We have stopped listening to what the world thinks and we have started listening to what our Source thinks. And whether you call it Source or God or Goddeess or Divine or Universe, your Source loves you and has a plan and a purpose for your life.

When you stop fighting and actually start listening and following your intuition…

When you start setting boundaries and practicing radical self-care…

When you forgive everyone who has wounded you, including yourself…

When you stop caring more about what the world thinks you should do and start caring more about what you know is right for you…

That's when you find inner peace.

If you're ready to feel what that feels like – and it feels pretty effing cool, I have to tell you – then you're ready for Sacred Physicality. Check out our upcoming events (like Good Girls Do) or request a Strategy Session and we'll get you on the path to a life you love.

May peace be with you.

–Vanessa

Vanessa Long

Looking to transform your relationship with your Self, your Source, or your Spouse? You've come to the right place. Sacred Physicality will help you create a life you love and relationships that rock. Welcome!

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