9 ways to have a peaceful and productive life

We have had a number of weeks focusing on goals, success and preparing yourself for 2014. Now, I think it’s time to share some tips for finding peace in your life.

Life is all about balance. Being productive and achieving success is one half of the equation but there is an equally important other half and that is finding peace in your life. I’m pleased to introduce a lady named Solony who embarked on a journey of self-discovery in Kenya when she took part in a Meditation Fellowship. She believes that meditation has opened a new chapter in her life and now wants to share what she’s learned about living a harmonious life. Take it away, Solony!

Enter Solony
Living in peace is about living harmoniously with yourself, others, and all sentient beings around you. Living in peace is both an outward and an inward process. Outwardly, it’s a way of life in which we respect and love each other in spite of our cultural, religious, and political differences. Inwardly, we all need to search our hearts and minds and understand the fear that causes the impulse for violence. In continuing to ignore the rage within, the storm outside will never subside.

While you will find your own meaning of a peaceful existence according to your beliefs and lifestyle, there are some basics that cannot be overlooked. Here are the steps which can help you to discover your journey towards living in peace.

1. Seek to love, not control others.
   Ceasing to seek power over people and outcomes in your life is the first major step to living peacefully. Trying to control people is about seeking to impose your will and reality on others without stopping to see their side of things. A controlling approach to relationships will keep you in conflicts with others. Replacing a will to control with a broad approach of loving others instead, including their faults and differences, is the way to a peaceful life.

1. Find Your Inner Peace.
   At least once a day spend ten minutes in a peaceful place, such as under a shady tree or in the park, anywhere where you can sit quietly without distractions. Without inner peace, you’ll feel in a constant state of conflict. Trying to fill your life with possessions or improving yourself by social climbing without stopping to value your inner worth will leave you perpetually unhappy. When you’re angry, find a nice quiet place to stop, take a deep breath, and relax. Turn off the TV and computer. Get out into nature if possible, or go for a good, long walk. Put on some soft music or turn down the lights. When you feel calm again, get up and go on with your life.

1. Moderate your convictions.
   Thinking in absolutes and holding to opinions without considering the viewpoints of others is a sure way to live a life without peace. This type of extremist thinking usually leads to reactive, hasty, and driven behavior that lacks the benefit of reflection. This approach can easily lead you into conflict when other people fail to agree with your convictions. Remain open-minded and ready to review your understanding. It’s more rewarding because you’ll grow as a person and live in greater harmony with those around you.

1. Be tolerant.
   Tolerance in all that you think and do will make a difference in your life and in the lives of others around you. Tolerance for others is about appreciating diversity, the plurality of modern society, and being willing to live and let others live too. When you fail to tolerate others’ beliefs, ways of being, and opinions, the end result can be discrimination, repression, dehumanization, and ultimately violence.

1. Be Peace.
   A peaceful person does not use violence against another person or animal (that includes small obnoxious insects too). While there is much violence in this world, make a choice to not let death and killing be a part of your philosophy of living.

1. Reflection of thought.
   If someone hurts you physically or mentally, do not react with anger or violence. Stop and think. Choose instead to
   Seek forgiveness, not revenge.
   Live in the present, not the past. Dwelling on that which should have been and reliving past wounds will keep the negativity of the past alive and bring constant internal conflict. Forgiveness allows you to live in the present, to look forward to the future, and to let the past settle gently. Forgiveness is the ultimate victory because it lets you enjoy life again by making peace with the past.

1. Live in joy.
   Choosing to see the wonders of the world is an antidote to violence. It’s hard to be violent against that which you see as beautiful, wondrous, amazing, and joyful. The greatest despair arising from wars comes from the destruction of innocence, beauty, and joy. Joy brings peace to your life because you’re always prepared to see what is good in others and the world, and to be grateful for the wondrous aspects of life.

1. Be the change you wish to see in the World.
   Violence starts with your acceptance of its possibility as a solution. It’s within yourself that you need to stop violence and become peaceful. Change yourself before you can change the world.

At the end of the day, living in peace will be your own conscious choice. You’re free to choose your own path, but whatever way you go, keep in mind that all your actions will affect those around you.