♥ Your Life: Court Peace

I had a nice long talk with an old friend this past weekend. We shared a bottle of wine and rehashed everything going on in our lives right now. So often, these talks are a form of therapy. And what do we most often discuss? Our fears, our worries—basically everything that is causing us stress.

At several points in our conversation, my friend talked about what feelings we should “court.” She used the word in an unconventional way, and it stuck with me. I like the idea of “courting” different feelings and experiences in our lives. It implies an active approach to life, and also acknowledges that we can and should take care of ourselves.

Today I want to write about “courting” peace. Our lives can be invaded so easily by non-peaceful elements. Busy schedules, conflict with others, worries about our future, and feelings of inadequacy—they really don’t go away, do they? These things might spare you for a while, but then they inevitably come back, sometimes in big ways, sometimes small. Struggles seem to be part of the human existence.

We can’t avoid these difficulties altogether, but we can make active decisions to try to buffer all of this a bit for ourselves. We can, in short, court peace.

Courting peace can take different forms on different days. But it always means taking your own state of mind into consideration when making a decision. It means looking out for yourself.

Today I feel a bit gloomy because of a bunch of small things: I’m tired and scattered from my new job and from a hectic schedule at home, it’s windy and gray outside and getting colder by the hour, the holidays are looming and I haven’t even made a single list, and although I guess I should feel proud that I’m on track to make the money needed to start my business, instead I just feel sidetracked and stalled on my own goals. Oh, and there might be some hormones mixed in there, too. :)

So I am going to court peace for myself RIGHT NOW. Here I go. I’m putting on my ugly but comfy slippers. I’m making myself tea. I’m turning on all the lamps (the warm glow is cozy). For the first time in days, I’m making my bed (so my room looks nice and tidy). I’m pulling out my Motherpeace cards to help me access my intuition and feel all earthy. Maybe later I’ll take a bath. It might even have bubbles.

To make all this happen, there are a bunch of things I’m choosing NOT to do: the dishes, the laundry, the grocery shopping, the holiday list making. These things definitely need my attention. I’ll get to all of that eventually. But not right now. Right now I’m courting peace.

© Amy Daniewicz

Photo credit: “Quetico Provincial Park June 2012” by Joe Strupek

This post is part of an ongoing feature inspired by my blog’s mission: ♥ Your Home, ♥ Your Life, ♥ Yourself.