Finding Calm Here and Now
Where Peace Resides: Finding Calm Here Now. With so much going on in the world right now, it can seem harder and harder to find peace and calm. There is truly always chaos going on somewhere in the world. Do you focus on what’s wrong in the world? How much time do you spend on things out of your control. Where your attention goes, energy flows. So where is your attention? How much time do you spend on the news each day? The only reality that exists is here, now. But what does that really mean and how can you find the peace in your present moment? Exercise, going to the ocean, gardening, spending time with friends and family, yoga, meditation. These are all opportunities to be fully present and finding the joy in even the simplest things.
Poem:"Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda:
Keeping Quiet
Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines,
we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers n the shade, doing nothing
What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about; I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death. Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve and you keep quiet and I will go.
This poem reflects on the power of silence and stillness, encouraging introspection and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.