How to be at Peace Instantly

Are you chasing peace or happiness? I once did. My agenda was to feel better by running away from how I currently felt: isolated and confused. Naturally, I clung to any technique that promised feel-good emotions or specific desires. It was like a drug. Every day, I forced myself to “be more present,” “view the situation differently,” follow a hyper-productive routine and more. I would be addicted to fancy practices like letting go and detaching. I didn’t even know what letting go meant besides cutting everyone and everything off. In retrospect, it was pretty rash and hilarious.

While these practices aren’t a bad thing to do, I did them out of fear. I followed these habits because I feared fully feeling the pain and hurt I felt.  

Let me tell you, none of those enticing rituals genuinely helped me grow. In fact, I ended up more disconnected from myself and confused than before. The pent-up frustration, discomfort, and anxiety eventually caught up to me and hit me like a truck. The feelings were so strong that I had no energy or motivation to escape them. I helplessly let the sorrow, isolation, and other pains wash over me. 

This surrender was when the magic happened. 

It was like I became friends with the monster. I became so familiar with the pain that it didn’t hurt anymore. I became one with it. The more I allowed myself to feel every emotion and think every thought, the more anxiety and worries started to fade. Addressing my feelings grounded me more in the present without any forced effort. I naturally felt more stable and at peace with myself. 

I was the calm medium through which every emotion and thought entered and passed. This experience is entirely different than being consumed by thoughts and feelings.

I realized that it wasn’t about achieving a particular emotion through brute force. Instead, it was about being ok with everything I felt. 

Now, I extend peace beyond a specific feeling or mindset. Instead, it’s a constant, unwavering experience of allowing all emotion and thought to move through me.

So, don’t chase peace. You will never find it. Instead, recognize that you are already at peace. You can claim this peace by letting yourself be where you are.