Wonderful Depiction of Peace and Calmness
We all love peace, amity, serenity, stability, harmony and calmness and abhor disorder, turmoil, tumult, violence, disturbance, upheaval, unrest, conflict, war etc.
All our life struggle is nothing but an endeavour to find peace and happiness and often the two are so intermingled that we find it hard to differentiate between the two. But very few know that there is a big difference: In typical sense, happiness or joy is often sensational and thus it has more to do with noise; laughing, singing, dancing etc. But on the contrary, peace can be simply understood as tranquility or a state of calmness (of mind). Moreover, happiness is often felt by possessing material things or having achievements, such as good salary/job, high social status, recognition in terms of medals and rewards etc. While peace or calmness can be achieved by just not desiring these things in the first place or not even after losing them. It is a state of spiritual calmness that comes from within. It is a deep sense of tranquility that is not dependent on external circumstances or possessions such as, big car, beautiful bungalow, branded clothes etc. In short it is feeling of non-attachment or, as some Buddhists point out, letting go of our attachment to material possessions, relationships, and even our thoughts and emotions.
Thus search or desire for happiness creates more restlessness than a sense of achievement.
However, due to not being aware of this difference, we often fail to achieve the peace and it remains elusive as we are constantly seeking it on the wrong path. In other words, we continue seeking it outside while ignoring the truth that peace is a state of mind and not a commodity to be bought from the market.
This misperception or distorted sense of happiness keeps our mind troubled.
Thus according to some psychological theories, its our thoughts that disturb our peace — fear thoughts, self-doubt thoughts, anger thoughts etc. that are the by product of not achieving or losing what we desire or have. Moreover, we also do worry about so many little things and ultimately “worrying” becomes a habit.
And even having your act together on the outside doesn’t immunise you from inner turmoil. In fact, it doesn’t make much difference at all.
That is why we daily greet each other with the words like “wishing you love and peace,” “may you have a peaceful day,” “ “Wishing you a relaxing and productive day, full of happiness and a peaceful mind,” “Wishing You Deep Peace, Love, Happiness” etc. Then when someone dies, we wish them “Rest in Peace”
But, as one famous Urdu poet of 19th century bemoans there is no guarantee that we shall find peace even after death:
Translation
even if after death, the solace is not found, then where shall I find the refuge?
Regardless, in spite of all the desire, efforts, and aspirations we often fail to achieve the calmness and peace of mind. Although there is no shortage of advice or self-help material about how to achieve or experience more peace of mind. Such material is available in abundance offline as well as online offering attractive advice — learn to cultivate mindfulness, easy meditation exercises, how to be more spiritual and happy, or how to be more self-accepting, benefits of spending time in nature and focusing on gratitude, serving others and the list goes on and on.
But why we still fail to achieve what we so intensively need and desire? There are two possible answers:
i) Restlessness is brain/mind’s default mode. And some neurologists are of the view that brain’s default network (a set of regions) is spontaneously active during our passive moments but also becomes active during the directed tasks that require participants to remember past events and imagine or expect future happenings.
ii) Illusion of Control: According to psychologists, it is a tendency to overestimate how much control you have over the outcome of uncontrollable events. It is said that term was invented by U.S. psychologist Ellen Langer and is thought to influence gambling behavior and belief in the paranormal. This illusion of control can also be said to be responsible for the lack of faith or trust in God or the higher power ( a power greater than oneself) or whatever name or term you choose to , such as nature, the universe, invisible energy, etc. which goes far beyond the limited intelligence of your thinking mind. Thus resultant lack of trust causes restlessness and anxiety.
Some individuals might balk or get irritated at the idea of spirituality or religiosity, especially if their experience with religion is rooted in fear or judgment. However, some spiritual and mind professions/psychiatrists are of the view that it can also be called a deeper connection to themselves and the world around them. And thus it is suggested that with patience and mindfulness, one can likely experience a higher power (call it God or not) making itself known.
Prophets also used to meditate and had to undergo a process of spiritual training, initiation, and development by means of Word or Name of God to actualize their souls’ perfection for the function of prophethood. Thus worship is also a form of meditation and it aims at emptying the mind (detachment from worldly desires) and merging with universe (that is called God by theists)
Regardless of this debate about higher power, below is a wonderful short story that will make the whole idea of inner peace more than evident:
A Picture/Portrait of Peace
There once was a King who offered an attractive prize to the artist who could vividly illustrate the idea of peace with the help of a picture. The announcement of contest stirred the imagination of artists everywhere and many artists of fame decided to try their luck. Thus a lot of paintings from far and wide began to arrive. After all the entries had been registered, the King started looking at the pictures, uncovering one wonderful piece after the other as the on-lookers clapped and cheered. In the end there remained only two pictures that were selected and shortlisted for prize by king and he had to ultimately decide one of them as worthy of prize.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The picture 2 had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize?
Surprisingly, the King chose the second picture. Everyone was curious to know: Why?
‘So the king explained: “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
Lesson: “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or problems. It is a feeling within”.
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References:
i) https://www.thinklessandgrowrich.com/peace-of-mind/
ii) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3811106/
