finding peace in chaos

As we move through life there are many times when we just wish that we could be swept up and taken to a place of our dreams. No more so is that a desire than when we are faced with very painful and unwanted times in our lives. In such times, on both a large scale and individual scale we have a very high chance to experience violence and wars. How do we find peace when in such situations? In the study of peace and conflict there are many methods of control that are presented on a theoretical basis. In the larger realm of society all of the theories can be summed up as a peaceful state of being. What does this mean? Being at peace with the world is a popular phrase. Actually being at peace takes a great deal of energy and practice. However there are simple methods to help obtain some semblance of order during chaos. One such method is to name the situation you are experiencing and ask why you are in that state. Of course this is not useful when an outside force is the cause of unrest such as war, sickness or any other sort of disaster. Yet in such situations the inner peace method of asking yourself how you are feeling does bring a calmness of mind when panic sets in. The other part of being at peace is to know what you can and cannot control. For many there is a strong desire to say that we must stop such events as war. In reality war and violence will never end. We did not invent war, violence or pain. Such realities exist without us even being alive. What we need is to be aware and be in control of how we understand and act during such events that bring us to extremes of existence. During such times you may not be able to control the causes and impacts of events but you can control your own self. Ultimately that is all you have to be in control of. Being in control of yourself allows you to see clear and understand as many options as possible. One method that helps with this is called Reflective Practice. Simply what this entails is for you to ask yourself how you are feeling and what changes you want to make. Then you make the changes and the process begins as you gauge the progress towards a peaceful solution. The inner part takes a great deal of effort and mental capacity. This effort is not helped when the belief sets in that everyone is against you. Changing that perception is a must for a peaceful world to be a reality. Often the statement of “Why does everything have to be so difficult?” is used in times of stress. Such times have been classified by Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 or dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t situation. During such moments a reflective process will ask that you set out a plan and then do that plan. There is also a point of relief that somewhere there is someone that is willing and able to help. There always is support and during times of panic or stress you are not clear of mind to see or understand that support. As you move through these times you will become aware that the vision of what you once thought was the solution may have changed. These are the self teaching moments which are so important. When we understand that outcomes and solutions are future based, we can change it. We are able to correctly guess how events will play out based upon prior experience. Yet, having this knowledge allows us to change things and have different outcomes. This is the reflective practice. Otherwise we exist in ruts and apathy will consume us. Part of the inner peace ideology is that we are creative and we have control over many things. We control how we act and respond to others. Mastering those two parts of yourself is a very large step towards inner peace.