Peace vs Stress

I haven't written anything in awhile. Not from lack of desire, but rather lack of inspiration. Maybe it's my perfectionism rearing its ugly head because I don't like writing anything unless it's going to be something I consider really worthwhile. Unfortunately, perfectionism and peace don't always go hand in hand. One of the biggest things I've noticed during this journey is all of the 'enemies' of peace that I encounter in my daily life. If I'm going to place peace in the position of importance and prioritize it the way I intend to, then inevitably some of the current habits in my life are going to be challenged. One big one is my 'need' to be right (but I might devote an entire post to this later on so won't go into my thoughts on that right now.) I'm also learning to recognize the stress levels that I allow myself to live under. Stress in its various forms is such a huge contributor to disease and for me I know that I must reduce some of the stress levels I experience if I want to live life at it's best. I know some physical stress is environmental and can't be avoided but what I'm more specifically referring to is emotional stress such as living in fear or anxiety about things that one has little or no control over. I'm sure there are many studies that have been conducted in regards to the effects of stress on the body which the reader can study in their spare time should they feel the urge. I guess because this is a somewhat 'subjective' blog on my personal experiences with learning to live in peace, I will aim to keep my writing relevant to my journey.

This is what I'm learning. Peace brings clarity. Fear brings confusion, and for me, a type of 'paralysis' when it comes to making good decisions. Fear-based decisions tend to beget more fear-based decisions. If I'm confronted with a difficult choice or decision, it's better to buy myself time and get the internal voices in my head to quiet down rather than charge into something motivated by urgency and later on end up regretting it. The Bible says 'let peace act as an umpire' (Col. 3:15 AMP) which to me says that any absence of peace should be a clear indicator that we've gotten off track somewhere. Unfortunately, I believe so many of us are used to living in some level of stress or chaos - internally and externally- that we wouldn't know how to get back to a place of peace even if we wanted to. What does peace even look/feel like and how do I get there and stay there? How do I break the old habit patterns that are 'grooved' into the neural pathways of my brain? How do I learn to recognise when I've deviated from the path of peace? I know this isn't an overnight 'makeover.' I've taken years to get to the place that I'm at now. Some thinking habits have been there since I was a child. Now I am slowly reprogramming my mind/heart to take new thought 'pathways.' I'm creating a new 'normal' and that is taking some time. Some days and weeks feel as though I'm moving at a snail's pace whereas others seem filled with breakthrough. This is definitely a journey... most likely one I will be on for the rest of my life. My desire is that as time passes and I look back, I will be able to see definite progress that I can use to encourage and pass on to others wanting to take similar steps in their own lives.