Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. (Jesus)
Imagine Jesus waking up the way many of us do, with a list of things we’re still stressed about from yesterday, all of the things we have to get done or go do today, and the things in our body that don’t feel good, and then going out into the world like “what’s up? how can I help you today?”
He actually didn’t do that though because He knew that in order to give others peace, He had to have His first. Jesus set an example for us in self-care before it was cool (another thing for us to stress about when we’re not doing it right/enough). He took time to eat and drink, rest His body, rest His mind, be in community, and ask for help.
It is my conviction that there is no way to peace – peace is the way.
Thich Nhat Hanh
As previously mentioned, we already know we’re supposed to do self-care-ish things. There is literally too much information out there about it. I’m not even going to say another word on the subject. When I woke up this morning, I had a million things on my mind (sadness because I miss my dad, conflict, fear), many things to do (mostly good things), and everything hurt (ohhhh my aching back!). Suffering. I woke up suffering. I wake up suffering most days, to varying degrees. We all do. But, instead of asking myself how much I’m suffering and what I can do to fix it, I’m asking myself how much peace I have today. And if I don’t have enough for me or I don’t have any to spare, I need to work on that. That doesn’t include problem solving. It means taking a breath or several, sitting in the quiet, finding gratitude, and asking for help from others who do have peace to spare.
Feeling good all the time is not the goal. We’re not meant to feel good all the time. WE ARE NOT MEANT TO FEEL GOOD ALL THE TIME. Even on our best days, there’s going to be a thing. On our worst days, peace is 100% possible.
So we ask ourselves not how much we are suffering today, but how much peace do we have today. And if we have extra, give it away.