Finding Peace

We all need a little peace in our lives!

To me there is nothing like the sound of waves and the warm sun to bring me peace. Or the sound of birds chirping as they fly over the beach. I even love to stop and listen to the leaves as wind rustles through the tree branches and thinking how thankful I am that God gave us these things for our pleasure.

Sometimes we just need more peace.

I am not one for a lot of fluff! Those who think they know me well may be skeptical.

Don't you just hate to read a self help book that takes you through ten chapters before getting to the goody?

Me too!

So here it is, I am giving you some meat and potatoes right up front so you can know what to expect.

How do you begin to find peace?

My answer is follow peace.

So how do you follow peace?

Think of the things that bring you peace like I did above. Make a list of these things and do them often.

If you are having difficulty in thinking of things that bring you peace then maybe we should do a little work.

Your Stress List

I want you to make a separate list each for all the  people, places or things that stress you out and bring discomfort to your life.(You may want to see my blog ~ Stress can kill you)

Do not move forward until you do this! Please...

After you have made the stress list, I want you to make a dream list. List all the things you would love to see in your life! List vacations you would like to take, the type of people you want in your life, how you would decorate your living space if you had all the money you needed and so forth....whatever your dreams are.

Once you have both list I want you to look at the stress list and answer these questions.

What can you take off of that list and never put back again?

What would it take to remove that stress from your life?

What are you willing to do?

Maybe you don't want to throw a husband out the door or best friend or even the dog, but what are those things you do have control over? Maybe taking a deeper look at the situation and solving a few issues can solve the stress issue and bring peace. Maybe it's just planning ahead using time management that will relieve your extra stress.

So if the dog stresses you because he is always barking and not listening to your commands, maybe you can spend some special time each day with your pet and see if he is just having anxiety issues. Or get some professional,training on the schedule so your pet can meet your expectations.

When you are able to acknowledge what the deletes are, then let's look at the stresses that you feel that you can't delete because it may be a family member.

On the other hand if it is a spouse, maybe a good sit down conversation needs to take place. Try to schedule the conversation when you are both well rested and when you both are expecting to sit down and talk. Sometimes just taking the time to communicate what your expectations are, can make the world of difference. Letting your spouse know your desires is important whether is sexual, financial or just if you want to spend more personal time with them, communication is the key. Let them know that you need them, don't demand attention, that won't work for long. No one wants to be made to do anything. That would cause resentments. 

Then there are the other people in your life, friends, co-workers and acquaintances. Sometimes a line needs to be drawn to let another person know what you won't accept. If you continue to allow other people to step on your toes, your toes will continue to hurt! So it's your decision, ask yourself, do I keep the bunions or not?

For example: say you have a friend who goes on and on about how their boss has mistreated them. Every time you are around your friend or on the phone with them, if anything reminds them of their bosses treatment, there it goes again the same story over and over again. Even though as a friend you've given them your suggestion on what to do it seems to run off of them like water runs off of a ducks back. It's actually beginning to grate on your nerves and you almost want to ignore this friends calls.

What to do?

Be direct and tell them they are your friend and you care about them but they need to deal with it or get another job because you refuse to listen to it again! It's hard knowing that you could lose that friend, but really do you want to hear this story or ones like it for the rest of your friendship?

Draw a line in the sand and let your friend know what you want out of that relationship. You are going to find that the real friends will appreciate your honesty and the ones you lose, well, they never were your friends in the first place. They were using you as a sounding board, all the while you were being abused and stressed by that so called friendship.

Just keep going through your stress list until you are satisfied with the he changes.

Peace can also come when you put the most important thing in your life first and hopefully that is God. I can say by experience that when I put Him above everything else including family, all the other stuff falls into place. 

Now your dream list for finding peace

Do you find yourself around people who want to steal your dreams?

Maybe they really don't want you to be unhappy, they just can't see what you see. Something is blocking their view. It could be their own stress over money, time or busyness. They let these things block their dreams.

Don't let others put a damper on your dreams. 

Maybe you haven't allowed yourself to dream in a long time. If so then think back to when you were just a small child, a teenager, or a young adult and knew exactly what you wanted. Do you still want some of those same things?

Are you willing to try new things?

Maybe you haven't taken a vacation in a while. Start planning because not only will fulfilling your dreams relieve stress but it will bring more happiness and peace into your life.

What about redecorating a room that you have put off for a long time? Maybe it was the funds that you needed for the project. Start planning now like you will do it next week. Go to the paint store and choose paint swatches, look at magazines for inspiration. I love to go to our local building supply, they have amazing magazines.

Put into motion what you are dreaming about. If you don't take the first step you will never get there!

When you start to make a plan you will begin to feel peace about your life and excitement! Don't sweat the small stuff and don't let your fears stop you dead in your tracks.

Dream and you will find peace! Put it all into motion and don't let others hold you back. It's your life, follow what brings you peace!

Hope this helps you find more peace in your life! If you find that it has helped you, feel free to share it with others!


Blessings!

Teryan Cooley
P.S.  Follow my blog so we can stay connected! If you know someone who is going through depression you may want to share my testimony with them, click here.
P.S.S. If you have more ideas on following peace share them in the comments