Peace Out Dude

Peace.

What exactly is that? Lack of war? Quiet solitude?

For me it's that feeling of a cool fog settling in like a blanket over the mountains on a crisp, cool morning.

That feeling of a warm breeze gentling massaging your skin as you lay on the beach with your toes in the sand.

It's a physical thing. It's a mental thing. It's a spiritual thing. The same feeling can come from anything. Anywhere. At anytime.

I'm a fairly peaceful person. I get riled. I can get really pissed at times. But those moments thankfully do not last for long. Mostly, I am at peace.

It took a long time to get here. It was a long journey. It was a hard journey. I would draw you a map if I could, but there's no way to give you step by step directions. It's an incredibly awesome place to find yourself on a daily basis. I really wish I could get more people here because the world by far would be a better place.

But some may never find any level of peace. I find that incredibly sad.

My only advice is that the first thing you must do when searching for peace is be willing to give up control.

Oh.....that's a hard one. A REALLY hard one.

You can't control everything. You want it this way....well, guess what, someone else wants it another way. Is it really worth the struggle to get it your way? In some cases it really may be. But mostly, it's not.

I can't control airlines.
I can't control traffic.
I can't control the idiots I find myself surround by on occasion.
I can't control the decisions or lack-of that my bosses make.
I can't control the mistakes of others.
I can't control how others react to my mistakes.
I can't control the playlist on the radio.
I can't control the unthoughfulness, rudeness, or downright meanness of others.

But I can control how I react to all of this.

I read this last night from Pastor Matt Cannon's blog...

"I can’t control all of the things that have happened to me in the past and I won’t be able to control the things that happen to me in the future. But I can control how I react.  Better than this, I can allow the Holy Spirit to control how I react."

It's a message I felt that needed to be shared.

Gotta run....