Choosing Peace Amidst Chaos

Copyright by WyoJones. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

“Peace of mind, peace of conscience, and peace of heart are not determined by our ability to avoid trials, sorrow, or heartache. Despite our sincere pleas, not every storm will change course, not every infirmity will be healed…” W. Christopher Waddel

I was browsing the hubs feed to find a picture for my blog and saw this picture. Just looking at it made my insides calm. I stopped and took a deep breath. And felt peace still into my heart.

This got me thinking about how we deal with lives, with a world, that is a constant state of chaos.

We’re not in charge.

Well, we are in charge of one thing.

How we feel about what is happening to us.

There are days when the winds can blow, they can even howl and I’m in the eye, looking around and thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of wind.”

Other days, I’m spinning in the wind. I can see the eye, but I’m not in it, because I feel the wind, I believe I’m in the wind, and not the eye.

I think, therefore, I’m there.

There is great power in what we believe, what we believe we feel. I’m not always great at doing it, but I know it works when I really want it.

Some years ago, I was seriously ticked at the hubs. I mean, frothing at the mouth, fire shooting out of the top of my head ticked. He and the Son were heading out of town and as I was driving to meet them, I caught sight of myself in the rear view mirror.

If there’d been such a thing, I could have been a Facebook meme. A scary one. I stared at that scary person and thought, “What if something happens to me or to them? Do I want that face to be the last memory they have of me?”

“They” will tell you that you “have to let it out.” You don’t.

I thought, “I don’t care if my head explodes and destroys half of New Orleans. I will not say goodbye to them this angry.”

And you know what? Poof. The anger was gone. It never came back.

So, when I’m feeling out of control and anything but peace, I think back on that experience and realize it is a choice. I choose what I’m feeling.

And I can choose not to feel it if I don’t like how I’m feeling.

So, have you ever decided not to feel something? Found peace amid chaos? I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  (And don’t forget that once a quarter I’ll be tossing in something fun from the Perilously Fun Shop!) The recipient is announced in the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,

Pauline

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