It is the season of Advent. A time to ponder, anticipate and contemplate towards the end of year and leading to the ultimate celebration - the birth of life, Christmas. During the second week of Advent, Christians celebrate and ponder upon Peace. Peace can mean many things. To most of us, Peace is an emotional state of calmness, being grounded, feeling safe and secure. Peace to those of us who live in an environment of strife and conflict, be it a physical war, an internal strife, or a home filled with chaos and arguments, may actually only be a temporary period of respite.
To anyone reading this article, it does not matter where we are at both externally and internally. All that matters is to know that in all situations, we can bring Peace into our day.
An adaptation of the Guest House Poem, by Rumi:
This feeling peaceful is a guest house.
Every morning, a new opportunity.
A moment of Peace, a new arrival,
A blessing, a gentle breeze, a momentary awareness that comes.
Entertain them all!
Treat each guest honorably, Peace may be clearing you out for a new delight.
Be grateful for each moment, for each arrival has been sent as a Wisdom from beyond.
How do we go about bringing Peace through our day? The answer is in the appreciation of this momentary awareness in the poem above. How do I feel peace (or find peace) in my bustling day? I find this by setting my intention early in the morning. This is the opportunity to invite Peace into my day. I simply find a quiet time, focus on my breath, which each breath in, more calm. Each out breath, less tension. "More Calm, Less Tension"... I am with Peace, whoever Peace is to you. For me, Peace is a gentleman in Victorian times. Mature and tall, steady as an oak tree, he is calm and collected, listens with intent before speaking. Peace is gentle and has a firm handshake and he embraces me with a warm hug and a pat across the back.
Peace invites me to spend that quiet moment with him. I imagine we walk in the early dawn across the garden at the Guest House. We hardly speak, but he guides me to listen, to sense the wind, to absorb the sounds of birds chirping, even the occasional noise from the distant road at the entrance of the Guest House. I experience this deep and rich centeredness of safety and security and fully immerse into this state of Peace.
As I open my eyes, I continue with my daily life, but this time, I'm intentionally using my coherent breathing (4 slow and equal counts of breathing in, and 4 counts breathing out), to allow momentary awareness of Peace to my life. As I slow down my breath while busy at work, I suddenly notice the lingering taste of bittersweet coffee on my tongue. I begin to swirl my tongue across the back of my front teeth and that feeling of gentle friction anchors me somehow. I then imagine Peace to be at work beside me, as a notification comes through my phone, I wonder with curiosity who is reaching out to me, what the matter is, but I no longer invite Stress and Anxiety to enter this space. This is my bubble of focus, at work with Peace and I find myself in flow state.
The Wisdom from this day's invitation to spend time with Peace, is that this calmness is from without (external), but the desire to invite Peace comes from deep within. With Peace, comes Wisdom it brings from beyond. I have learned the important lesson practicing being with Peace at work, or rushing in commute, that my negative emotions (desolations) aren't mine, they are from without. I set my intention for the rest of this second week of Advent, to be with Peace throughout my day.
- Ruminating Rumi Shorts December 9, 2021
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