Reflections on Peace

As I sit here in Grecia and reflect some more on my trip here, I realize that the highlights of my trip are all small moments. As in life, there is no epiphany. There are only a small amount of times when you can look back and realize that you were in a state of bliss, or calm, or joyful. Perhaps triumphant. O come ye.

As in life, we make choices. In fact, we make thousands of choices per day, and through this flow of choice, our day unfolds.

We choose to procrastinate and check FaceBook and click around. We choose to put off other choices by watching TV or researching something that happened in our world. We become involved in helping those in need. We put our dreams on hold by doing things that we feel are important.

This is not a judgement towards anyone who does this, for I am certainly one of those that chooses to distract myself from making real choices that will enhance my happiness or help me move towards a goal. Such is human nature.

And yet, as I procrastinate, my intentions to build a business based on helping others achieve their goals and live their passions does not leave my consciousness. I allow myself to do other ‘non-productive’ tasks because I know that there is time to relax and that my mind is still racing towards my goals. I am sub-consciously working towards decisions and plans of action. Right? I hope?

There is no flowchart to success.

There is no empirical system that works for everyone, and no timeline that guarantees a new life full of passion.

Here is how it is working for me, and I hope that someone can glean a kernel of wisdom from this, and if you don’t, that’s okay, because your journey is not mine.

There’s tons of clichés that I can use.

When you find your passion, you will never feel like you are working again.

When you do what you are supposed to do, it is a joy every day to work with others.

Again, I am realizing one gigantic fact. I am happiest when I live in the moment. I can open my heart to those around me and trust that I will receive what is needed.

I also realize that I should not do those things in my life that I am not good at. It’s okay for me to have hobbies that I do not excel at, for they allow me to create or build or grow or organize. These things, like landscaping, or renovations, or photography, or helping charities, take care of parts of me that need to be nourished. But they are not done to be perfect – they are not accomplishments that I judge myself on and they do not sustain me.

What sustains me is helping others to find their passions and to guide them in accomplishing milestones of their own and to see them succeed.

In order to find your passion, it is not imperative for anyone to have that perfect business plan, or put together that timeline and feel fearful to deviate from it. Once I realized that all passions flow and are organic in nature - I intuitively knew that when something was right, it would happen to me. I know that if I need something, it will come to me. Or when I feel slightly anxious, someone I know or have just met will say the right thing to help me stay true to myself.

But this post is not about my dreams, although everything I write is all about me. It’s all about me because if I am not true to myself, I cannot help others to find what they need in life. It is my goal to be able to help many people, and to this end, my writings will coalesce into a book, one that hopefully others can take parts of it into their lives and it will enable them to reach for their passion, and grasp them firmly, and never let go.

This post is about a feeling.

For me, when I feel overwhelmed with what is happening in my day, or disorganized, or discouraged, I now take myself to specific places that soothe me and energize me..

In Costa Rica, I have found many places that nourished me, and some that energized me, and three that filled me with wonder and peace and happiness.

The beach in the National Park in Manuel Antonio – I came upon this spot during a hike. It was early morning, and the tide was low and the beach was glimmering with heat. The waves crashing on the shore created a rhythm that seemed to echo my beating heart. As I stood watching and waded in and then sat, and lived in the moment, I am become one with the surf, the beauty of the spot and it lifted me to a higher place, one that showed me that on this earth, there may be decay and avarice and pain, but there is also perfection and beauty and tranquillity. This place reminded me of opening presents on Chirstmas Day when I was a child. It brought back and surpassed that feeling. I lived entirely in the moment, and my mind was cleared of debris, just as the water cleansed the sand on the beach. It was a perfect moment.

The Catarata San Luis is near MonteVerde. I have been there more than once, and the first time was in awe of the surroundings. The towering cliffs and this ribbon of water cascading to the bottom, forming a pool and then rushing down the hill, carving itself around the boulders and the earth, eroding and yet existing in perfection. The mist swirling, the thundering noise and the intimacy of this place. A small area at its base, and the last time I visited, I ran to the falls, surging ahead of my new friends in order to be there by myself. For at least 20 minutes, I sat or stood in awe at this powerful force, and allowed the mist to cleanse me, and allowed my mind to become one with the forces there. I cannot describe the feeling, for it took my away from myself, and placed me in the bosom of the earth, and it allowed me to share in its wisdom, and its peace. I felt joyful and emotional during this time, but clear with purpose and one with nature. Were those tears form the water or from myself? I didn’t care. It changed me.

The third is the magic tree, and for this one, there was sometimes water from the rain, and sometimes the warmth of the sun. But each time I arrived there, the forest swallowed me up and took me to a place of suspension from reality. It was though the world created a bubble of peace in this forest, and although I may be claustrophobic or afraid of heights, I was guided to climb into this natural masterpiece, and go upwards and share it with others that had made the trek with me. And it became the Tree of Clarity for me, and the Tree of Truth. Those who climbed with me found something inside of them that needed to be said, and they shared it with me and we bonded. It helped me transcend my fears, and hugged me with its calmness. Suspended among the canopy, I was free. I was part of the natural world – for humans have forgotten that we exist with nature, and we create artificial nature. In this place, I could feel the forces that many have never felt, and it was very powerful, and life affirming.

These three places are still there. They are there for others to visit, and for those people to feel what they need at that time.

I have worked on a way that when I close my eyes, if I need it, I can transport myself to these three places, in order to have all my senses in tune with the rhythms and the magic. 

Each of us can take ourselves to a place where we were at peace. For some, it is watching the look of their child that experiences the world in their own special way, or seeing their favourite band, or watching their dog run around in the snow for the first time.

Take a moment, close your eyes, reach back into your memory for a special time, and remember what each of your senses felt. And then put it all together, and remember how you felt, what emotions came over you, and you will find your own peace. At this time of year, it is important to center yourself and relax. I hope all of you find your moment, and that peace is with you. 

Take this into the next year, and if you need to make resolutions, resolve to sit back and remember a place of beauty, and make plans to find another.

Merry Christmas.