From Within

"Peace, Beaver."

That's what Aslan said to Mr. Beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when Mr. Beaver was all busy telling Aslan, the Great Lion, about the audacity of the White Witch and her claims. "Queen of Narnia! Why, of all the cheek!"

Nothing like a conflict or confrontation to shake things up and agitate us. And steal our peace.

Our equilibrium loses balance in connection with our reactions to things, people, circumstances. And we have a tendency to blame those outer sources for our trouble.

But, alas, the source of the conflict comes from within.

How can you know?
By asking yourself, "Why?"

Conflict and confrontation of any kind can easily steal our peace. Since not having peace is a miserable place for most, the first thing we want to do is get our peace back as soon as possible.

For me, my journal has come in handy for just such a purpose. As I think over my day, I review what agitated me, what caused conflict, what really got my attention.

Then I ask myself, "Why?"

Sometimes one of the most challenging questions to ask is "why"; and you know why it's the hardest question to ask? Because in order to get the answer, you have to be honest with yourself. There is no place for denial if you really want to know the truth of the situation.

And sometimes the answer you get when you're honest with yourself reveals emotions and parts of you that aren't necessarily attractive. Like feelings of resentment, jealousy, bitterness, anger, insecurity, and fear. And you may wonder, where on earth did that come from? You may not want to know. Those are not the things we like to think about, let alone work through. That's what brooms and rugs are for.

But once you've come this far, half the problem has been solved. At least you know what the source of the trouble is. Now you can take the bull by the horns and decide for yourself what needs changing and actually implement it.

Yes, navigation can seem tenuous at best when we excavate the source of our trouble. Our discoveries will be profound, intense. They can be viewed as rubble or a gold mine. It really is a matter of perspective. Yet, still, we may prefer to look the other way, deeming the process as too much trouble or too messy.

But we all have issues that, when provoked, rise to the surface at one point or another. We aren't alone in our maladies. That's just a part of being human.

When I journal about the issues that steal my peace, patterns of emotions, feelings, and thoughts emerge, and I consider what they are telling me about my inner person, at the core of who I am.

When we take the time to dig deeper and discover what makes us tick...or what ticks us off, we can work through these issues and determine what the next step is toward making positive changes...ones that will make a difference in our daily existence and activity.

When we see the patterns of our behavior, and when we recognize what we can do to make things better, we will feel good about those changes. And the more specific we get, the more accurate an assessment we can have, which will lead to permanent change that refreshes and invigorates.

You may find yourself sleeping better at night, having better digestion and lowered blood pressure, and maybe even more laughter in your interactions with others.

In other words, you will dramatically improve your quality of life when you choose to address those issues that steal your peace, determine why, and make those changes that will become new habits that will make refreshing, healthful differences in your life and in those with whom you come in contact.

It's really a win-win.

More peace. Less conflict.
More serenity. Less agitation.
More love. Less resentment.
More light. Less darkness.

That's change we can all appreciate.

We all know what happened to the White Witch.

Peace to you, my friend.

© 2010 by Dawn Herring