Meditation is Medicine
How Do I Find More Peace?
Do you ever feel like if your circumstances could just freaking change, then you could finally have some peace?
I think we’ve all been there. “If I could only have XYZ _______________ (fill in the blank), then I would be OK, relax, and not stress so much.”
It seems understandable, right? You have a problem. The problem creates stress. Fix the problem. No more stress. Bingo bango.
Well... maybe.
The reality is that our peace rarely lasts long because life has a way of throwing new problems at us just as soon as we resolve the old ones.
It’s true that some circumstances make life harder than others. But peace is less about our circumstances and more about how we relate to them. Peace is not the result of everything going our way.
Peace is a practice.
And one of the most peaceful practices I know is meditation.
Consider this quote from Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius:
People try to get away from it all – to the country, to the beach, to the mountains. You always wish that you could too. Which is idiotic: you can get away from it anytime you like.
By going within.
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful – more free of interruptions – than your own soul. Especially if you have other things to rely on. An instant’s recollection and there it is: complete tranquility. And by tranquility I mean a kind of harmony.
So, keep getting away from it all – like that. Renew yourself. But keep it brief and basic. A quick visit should be enough to ward off all and send you back ready to face what awaits you.
— Meditations, Book 4, Line 3 (Gregory Hays translation)
These words are nearly 2,000 years old, and they weren’t even new ideas when Marcus wrote them. This was simply Marcus writing to himself in his private journal, reminding himself of an ancient way to access a sense of harmony—not to escape reality, but to restore his inner balance so he could take responsibility for what needed to be done in the real world.
I love that.
I believe meditation is a kind of medicine. Something that restores us and renews our capacity to face reality with integrity.
So, if you’re lacking peace, yes, having your circumstances change might help. But you can’t fully control your circumstances. What you can control is the practice of going within. You can learn to find peace anytime, anywhere. It’s already there waiting for you. You simply need to learn how to access it.
So this month, we're going to focus on the theme of meditation in the Transformation Tips emails each week. My free mini masterclass this month will also be on meditation, and you can sign up for it below. 🙂
Here’s to cultivating more peace of mind.
Happy to be in your corner,
Tom Page, LCPC
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