Perfect Pace, Perfect Peace

Timely

May 27

Time is waiting for no one, there's lots of life happening to and around us.

Many of us are worn out not by our daily activities but mainly by the feeling that “there isn’t enough time” There isn’t enough time in the year to accomplish those goals you said you would achieve. There isn’t enough time in the day to get work done. There isn’t enough time to keep up with the all the demands and expectations that come with hustle culture.

What if you came to understand that time is actually within your control. As long as you can control your mind, you can control your time. When things feel out of control or we’ve “lost track of time” it’s because our minds have left the present moment and wandered beyond what we can control. Either the past or the future.

Life Update.

This past month was an adventure to say the least. When I said there's more to come this wasn't at all what I had in mind.

So this happened to my baby Myra B. Short for miracle

I was involved in a 3-vehicle accident with a drunk driver that totalled my baby :( The lad that rear ended me was going through his own issues but I happened to be a victim of his own reckless decisions.

But that's exactly how life is. There are seemingly more variables that are out of control than what is within our control. There are many things that happen to us that we simply cannot control. Many things we can’t predict or prepare for. Many problematic people that interact with us to disrupt our pursuits in life.

As long as we keep our minds focused on the possibilities of those kinds of incidents, we live a life void of peace. And when those things do happen, the longer you keep your mind fixated on it, the further your mind strays from the present moment and the good that you currently have. The more you imagine bad possibilities (things that haven’t happened yet), the worse your currently reality becomes.

Pressure shouldn’t shake your peace.

After the incident, I was acutely aware of the gift of life. When you see death face to face, nothing else matters. All you’ve been pursuing and striving for are insignificant. I remained in a place of gratitude for the precious life I get to live. I knew that I hadn’t lost anything. Yes, the brand new car that I had only driven for 4 months was totalled but I stepped out of that incident with only a few bruises. As long as I have life, I have everything I need.

As the days went by, I became disillusioned that I was losing momentum in the progress I had made in maintaining a healthy mind. Issues began to creep in because I had left a window open in my mind that shifted my focus from all the blessings of the situation. I started having a victim mentality. Not even about the accident but about life. I began to shrink my capacity to handle situations in comparison to the responsibilities and goals I was pursuing. I didn’t believe that I was capable of keeping up with life’s demands.

Until I understood that, I am in fact in control. The reality is that I am bigger than my problems. Everything I’ve been working on building didn’t crash (no pun intended) when the accident happened. It was a test of the strength I’ve built. It was an indication of my ability to handle bigger problems than I ever could in the past. It dawned on me that the version of myself prior to last year would have crumbled under the weight of a situation like this. But this refined version could accurately assess the situation and find the positives.

What is peace?

Peace is intentional focus on the things within your control. It is contentment with your daily decisions. Peace kickstarts the engine of your mind to take the right actions at the right time. When you have brain fog, your mind isn’t at peace.

Let me take it a step further and describe peace as living life on your own terms. When I heard someone describe that as success, those word’s stuck with me. And I would say that peace is a byproduct of success. When your peace is shaken, feelings of failure are most likely knocking at the door of heart.

There is no price you can put on peace. It is a treasure. Therefore, it stays hidden. Not hidden by anyone but herself. She hides herself, and desires to be searched out. On the daily. You need to find where she’s at in every situation.

Trust the timing of your life.

One thing that tries to stress me in this season is the pace that time is moving and I can’t keep up. I find myself saying things like “omg I have so much to do” but because I keep my mind on all the things I haven’t done and are waiting for me, i don’t get much accomplished because my mind can’t even find where to start.

On a larger scale, I know where I want to be in life and how much I want to impact the world around me and I’ve tried to hasten the process of getting to that potential version of myself, but trying to put express shipping on the version of myself hasn’t delivered anything. I still struggle with things I believe I should have grown out of awhile ago. I still stress about things when I know that worry gets me know where. I still do immature things that I’ve been taught lessons before. There are still things I am limited by that I thought would have been beneath me by now.

But this is all part of the journey. I’ve had to leave the destination mentality behind in terms of rushing to actualize the potential I know is within me and enjoy the process of getting there. Perhaps, there is more I need to learn in the process that will expand the impact of the destination.

We want all want better for ourselves. We want to achieve great things. And we will. But while you wait to see the manifestations of your dreams, while you wait for the realization of your potential, while you wait to experience life on the other side of depression, while you wait to figure out your purpose and what you were put on this earth to do, while you wait to gain the stamina you need to balance all of life’s demands…trust the timing of your life.

Keep your mind on the gift of your present circumstances and remain expectant for what is to come. You are in the exact place you need to be in life right now. Not delayed, not ahead. But in the perfect place. It’s perfect because there are hidden gems in the position you are in that will serve you in your next season

Where is your good life?

We typically analyze the state of our lives through the lens of quality of life we are experiencing. How heavy the moneybag is (#laughingtothebank), the accolades we receive, the position we hold. But what if we choose to view life through the lens of how far we have come?

The human anatomy has a natural ability for resilience. There are many diseases, infections, germs in the atmosphere that we take in everyday. Yet we sleep and wake up everyday. To live every single day takes a level of resilience. You are more than you think.

What are you wishing for that will convince you that your life is good? Whatever it is, is exactly what is keeping your peace buried.

Your monthly reminder to #dealwithtrauma.

After running from it for many years, I finally pulled the trigger and decided to work through the things that that kept my mind on past pains. I wish I could explain what that release felt like. Trauma is a weight that keeps the good in life buried in a heap of pain. Your interpretation of situation will always be distorted as long as you are traumatized. It’s almost like wearing the wrong prescription glasses. Your sight will be impaired and you won’t see things as they are in reality.

Not all traumatic events, have to leave you traumatized. Having control over your thoughts, allows you to reframe situations that may try to steal your peace. When you are in control, you can look outside of the problem to find a solution.

One of my favourite affirmations now is “where there are 99 problems, I am the 1 solution.” And I believe this wholeheartedly.

You are empowered to live a peaceful life. For people that meditate, they intentionally lose track of time and allow their minds to wander in a controlled manner. They can start with gratitude for things within their control but then they also think about things have either happened to them that they couldn’t control or things are yet to happen in the future. This practice empowers people to take back control of things that aren’t currently happening.

If you find yourself in the rat race and frantically padding your feet to stay above water, take a moment to pause. Remove your mind from the past or the future. If you haven’t yet try meditation, start here

Worry and stress does nothing but keep you stuck. Stuck in what you cannot control. I fought to keep my peace and keep moving forward and just like that I have a brand new car and a brand new mindset that I have gained from this experience.

Search for what is in your control. Look for something that can anchor you in the present moment. You are not a victim of life. You are powerful and you have everything it takes to overcome challenges everyday.