Inner peace is a term that has been used and abused over the years for a variety of reasons. It’s become a cliche and a buzzword, which in the everything-is-content-for-influencers era seems to be inevitable. But having inner peace or seeking inner peace in times of outer chaos is something that everyone can get behind.
One’s life experience is enough to know this: no matter what you do, life is better with some inner peace. Inner peace leads to better decisions, empathy, and deep conversations. It also improves active listening.
“Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to handle conflict with skillfulness.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
Inner peace lets us exercise courage, discipline, ambition, and restraint. It helps us engage with life instead of being jerked around by it. Inner peace isn’t just for yogis, meditation practitioners, and philosophy students. It is for everyone, and it is as important as cultivating physical health and critical thinking skills.
In my experience, I have found that inner peace is often confused with external peace. Inner peace is not a lack of strife, stress, or challenges. Inner peace is a calm state of being within ourselves, regardless of what is happening around us.
Stoicism is rooted in identifying what is within our control and what is outside of our control. Learning of that concept helped me a lot. But, the idea of equanimity has been a lifesaver. It means accepting what we can’t control.
Accepting what we can’t control flows right into accepting the impermanent nature of life. I love how philosophical practices can flow into spiritual concepts which can flow into humanistic techniques.
- Practicing mindfulness
- Gratitude
- Detachment
- Acceptance
- Congruence
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Building meaningful relationships.
Are those the strategies of philosophy, spirituality, or humanism?
The answer is all of the above. After almost 20 years of study, I find a constant. The similarities in these systems, or disciplines, are a metaphorical pressure release valve.
Not a hack, a magic pill, a quick fix, or a miracle cure because no such thing exists. Rather a clear path to inner peace. Being able to take a deep breath in knowing what I’m going through isn’t new or unique.
“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. ” — Epictetus
I am a human being going through what the majority of human beings go through. Knowing that there have been people for thousands of years experiencing similar internal and external challenges and have created systems, disciplines, strategies, and techniques to deal with the obstacles of existence.
That harmony among the ancient teachings helps to cultivate inner peace before one acts on the wisdom. The symmetry between Stoicism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Humanism removes an inner fear of isolated deficiency within me. The confusion of what to do is taken away. The immature hope for a quick fix dissolves.
