Sometimes life is stressful. Heck, who am I kidding? Life is
pretty much always stressful, in one way or another. Some days I don’t know how
I can cope with it without screaming my head off at someone – because I’ve
noticed that when I am the most stressed about something is when other people
are at their most annoying.
Over the past year I have discovered two things that are
guaranteed to help me find peace and love. These things aren’t necessarily
universal, but I do think they illustrate a couple of important concepts.
The first thing is being out in nature. When I lived in
Jackson, Wyoming last summer, every chance I got I would go out to the Tetons
(that’s Grand Teton National Park, for those of you who haven’t talked to me
enough to have me talk endlessly about my favorite place ever). Coming back
from those adventures – or sometimes even while still driving out there – I
felt as if all the stress of the world had been lifted away. I remember when
day in particular when work had just been a beast. As soon as I saw those
mountains, I felt as if a physical burden had been lifted from off my shoulders.
I felt at peace. I felt connected with myself and with God, and as a natural
result of that I found myself caring more about other people than about myself.
The second thing that is guaranteed to bring me peace is
venting my feelings to someone who will listen and try to build me up without judging
me. As hard as it is for me to admit, sometimes I just need a good cry. And as
soon as I let myself cry to someone the world seems like a much happier place.
I am at peace, and as a result I am much better able to care about the people
around me.
I believe that the reason these
two things bring me so much peace is because they make me feel connected.
Nature connects me to God, and crying to someone connects me to other people.
Connecting to God and other people helps me to feel connected to myself. These
three relationships are the most important things in life, and being able to feel
the love that comes from them brings me peace and fills me with joy.
Not that doing these two things
takes away all my trials. It doesn’t. But it feels me with love and makes my
trials easier to deal with. It also makes other people easier to deal with,
which can do a lot towards making life in general easier to deal with.
I’m not saying that if you’re not
doing these two things then you’re not going to find peace. But I would like to
suggest that you find your own way to connect to God. Prophets have recommended
finding a quiet place to commune with the Lord. For me, the best place for that
happens to be in a national park. For you, it might be your bedroom. Or the
closet. Heck, even the bathroom works – especially if you’re sharing a room
with a roommate (yes, there have been times when it’s been a habit of mine to
pray in the bathroom. Sometimes it’s the only private place around). And as for
connecting to other people, sometimes you’ve got to be willing to be vulnerable
(if you have the time, I really suggest listening to that talk. Heck, even if
you don’t have time you still should listen to that talk).
So take the time to connect.
Connect to God, connect to the people around you, connect to yourself. It takes
time and a bit of effort – sometimes it even takes a bit of courage – but it’s
worth it. Really. And what’s more: you’re worth it.
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