I'll have peace please, with a side dish of contentment!

I still consider being able to travel overseas as a privilege, everytime I travel though I seem to leave a little piece of myself there. I both yearn and dread leaving home as I know the effect it has on me....simultaneously exciting and unsettling. I can imagine myself in that "new" location, making friends, creating a life for myself and my family. Leaving some family behind as they grow more independent making their own way in life, saying farewell to friends with a sadness in my heart as I leave all that is familiar, juxtaposed with the joy of a new chapter in my life - what turmoil - and all created in my own busy headmind!

Ironically, yearning for peace and contentment leaves me in a constant state of flux, unsettled and wondering what's next? Striving to find something that I know can only be found within oneself. I have a framed embroidery hanging on my kitchen wall, done in 1993 by my friend Linda, she stitched one of my favourite quotes by German philosopher, Schopenheur who wrote,

"True peace of mind and complete tranquility are only to be found in solitude."

I'm sure we've all experienced times when we have been walking somewhere beautiful, and as our awareness falls on the beautiful surroundings we momentarily experience inner peace. This happens when we escape the busy headmind chatter, which can at times feel relentless.

When I experience inner peace for only one minute, then I know I have the capacity to extend that to two minutes, then five, then ten and with practise an hour may have passed.

Peace and contentment are within the reach of every single one of us. Perhaps travelling can unsettle us, highlighting areas we wish were different at home. However within our daily lives, from washing the dishes mindfully, to spending time outside with nature, we can tap into that essential peaceful core that exists within each and every one of us, wherever you happen to be!

"The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart." - Julien Green