How Do You Find Your Peace?

This week, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go for a walk, a practice I’ve been trying to add to my days since returning to school. This particular morning was different. There was a lightning storm in the distance, and I found myself completely in awe watching the sky light up while everything around me was still dark and quiet.

Then it started pouring. For about 45 seconds, the rain came down HARD, and admittedly, I was a little annoyed. Here I was, awake at 5:00 in the morning trying to do something healthy and peaceful, and now I was soaking wet. But almost as quickly as it started, it stopped, and the storm gave way to an incredible sunrise filled with pinks and reds. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, I found myself hysterically laughing. How amazing is it to be awake, basically dancing through a rainstorm, and watching another day begin?

Life can be a lot of things. It can be stressful, sad, overwhelming, busy, exciting, lonely, full, or sometimes strangely empty. We’re really good at noticing all of those things, especially the difficult ones. But peaceful? Peace seems to be one of those things that gets pushed aside.

I think part of the problem is that we expect peace to be bigger than it actually is. We imagine a vacation, an empty calendar, a weekend in the mountains, or some magical day where nobody needs anything from us. But maybe peace isn’t the absence of stress, responsibility, or difficult things. Maybe it’s just the little moments we find in the middle of them.

What brings you peace? Is it a late-night concert on a school night with your partner? Sitting outside watching the bugs, stars, sunsets, or people having fun? Walking your dog? Playing music? Spending time with the people you care about most? Peace can feel so difficult to find, yet somehow it’s also all around us. Sometimes we’re just moving too fast to recognize it.

Your Peace Homework

This week, find one peaceful moment every day. You don’t have to change anything about your routine or go searching for some perfect moment. Just notice it when it happens. Stay there for a few extra seconds and actually take it in.

Life is going to keep being stressful, weird, beautiful, frustrating, funny, and hard—sometimes all within about 45 seconds.

But peace is there too.

This week, let’s make sure we notice it.