Sunday, September 25, 2011

Peace in your soul

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life. Keep peace in your soul. -Max Ehrmann

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. There's just so much noise in the world that sometimes I feel like I can't quite think straight. I'm running to class, running to work, making 10 different to-do lists, making phone calls, working on homework, planning my schedule; it's like a constant dull roar in my head.

I'm taking a class studying Doctrine and Covenants this semester and we came across this scripture:

D&C 6:22-23
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?"

Previously, I had only thought of communication through the use of body language or verbal sounds. I have never thought of the feeling of peace as a form of communication from God. I have begun to analyze my life and figure out how much time I am actually allowing myself to stop, think, and feel complete silence. It can be a difficult thing to do in an apartment with 6 wonderful girls or on campus with 30,000 other students, but it's something that I want to strive for a few times a day.

I ran across something on the internet that was surprisingly difficult to do the first time. Try this. I usually have my iPod in my ears while I'm on campus, I'm talking to someone on the way home, and when I study I'm constantly thinking about the assignment at hand. Sitting still and not doing anything for 2 full minutes was really difficult at first because I have a hard time fully resting for a moment.

This week, I have been looking for opportunities to feel peace and I have been continually surprised at how many opportunities I have to feel its comfort in my life. Here's to a week of hectic business and inner peace.

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