Finding Peace.

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” —Saint Francis de Sales

You know when you find that place that offers peace? It offers stillness in the surroundings, but also on the inside, in your heart and mind? It offers love and compassion without requesting anything in return?

The way fresh air fills your lungs and caresses your soul, the damp moss squishing between your toes, a slight poke from a pine needle on the sole of your right foot, the rays from the sun kissing your skin, your eyes squinting and the wrinkles forming around them as you squint to welcome the sun. The smell of pine, cedar, and spruce trees mixed with the soft, subtle smell of fungi filling your nostrils and alerting your senses to the fullness around you.

This is peace, in these moments I find the most peace within my soul.

The ability to ground myself, walking among the living organisms of the forest floor, reigniting so many of my senses, invigorating and revitalizing my soul. Finding inner peace.

The ability to find peace, doesn’t come just by walking in the forest, taking in all of the beauty that surrounds me.

Finding peace also means therapy, allowing myself the time and ability to feel all of the emotions as they arise, to acknowledge them and to address them as needed. To let it all out and let it all go. Finding peace is finding a way to release in a healthy way.

Life is a beautiful struggle is one of the truest phrases I have ever heard in my life. Beauty surrounds me but so does struggle, pain, anguish, love, compassion, peace, and a true feeling of content.