Center of Peace (Here is one more thing I saved by )

[Guest guest]

A dear friend came to me the other day and asked me how I attained the peace in my life. She said, "You seem to have this internal peace thing down pat!" I had to disagree with her. I don't have "this peace thing" down pat. The fact is I struggle with it every day, but lately it seems I am finding it easier to "get out of the pit of despair". I compare it to being like an athlete. They train and hone their skill, day after day, not because the need is there to learn the skill, but to teach the muscles to react automatically. It is called muscle memory. When you are in constant pain and don't take your pain medications like you should, after a few days, you find your body has trained itself to be in pain and it takes longer and stronger drugs to get rid of the pain. I believe it is the same with our mental stability. The longer we allow ourselves to stay in the pit of despair, the easier it is to just sit there and do nothing. After awhile, your mind is so thoroughly stuck in the pit, it takes a great deal of help to get yourself out. The first step to healing is admitting to yourself that you need help. That admittance is the hardest obstacle in the healing process. It doesn't matter if your problem is a physical pain or a mental problem. Once that obstacle is passed, the process gets a little easier. Once you admit you need help, the next step is to actually ask someone else for that help. Now whether that help comes in the form of a doctor, a psychiatrist, a support group, or a sympathetic friend makes no difference. The point is you have to ask for the help. Once you have humbled yourself into admitting you are not infallible to life's trials, a door is opened in the mind. This is a two-way door. It not only allows the asked-for help to enter, but it also allows the pain, mental or physical, to leave. Some doctors believe you need to partition off the bad things that have happened in your life. They say to put them into their own little cubicle in your mind. Personally I have found that method does not work. Sooner or later, someone comes along with a key (be it a word or a deed) that opens that cubicle door. In a rush, all the pain escapes, and I get trampled and knocked back into the pit of despair. What I do instead is to bring that pain out into the open for all to see. I talk about the problem to anyone who will listen .. even to the point of talking out loud to the Creator when there is no one else to listen. In searching for the words to describe the pain or fear, I must come to know that pain or fear. By talking .. by repeating the same words over and over .. by facing those fears .. I have been able to finally get a grip on my life. I like to compare it to watching a horror movie. The first time you see a horror movie, you jump and scream the first time the monster jumps out on the screen. The second time you see the movie, you may jump, but you don't scream. After seeing the movie several times, you find yourself so used to the monster that now you can even take a nap during the scariest part of the movie. I am training my mind to ignore the fears, and to instead, embrace the good things in life. There is so much the world has to offer if we just take the time to look for them, like the smile of a child, watching the confetti of butterflies in a garden, or just walking in the rain. When was the last time you walked in the rain and stomped in a puddle with the joy of a young child? Or are you constantly worrying about getting your hair wet? Like an athlete, it is an everyday training session. If you miss a few days, your mind gets lax and depression can seep back in to haunt you. I meditate everyday and embrace the peace given freely by the Universe. This allows me to regain a center of peace rather than having to endure the turmoil. © October 2002 "Rion" Sewell