♫ Peace Beyond the Noise

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things…..and still be calm in your heart. unknown

You know, my Reese gave me a magnet that says that. It sits on my desk, in front of my face, and there are still days that I forget it.

I was going to write this big ol’ blog out today about being a single mom, and all that entails…but my heart’s just not there today. It’s coming though, I promise. There are some things I want to say to my single mamma girls, and it will be said this week, I promise. Today though, I just felt the need to address something else. I don’t know if it’s because I need to tell it to myself, or because someone else out there needs to hear it, but here goes.

Everything in your life, is noise. Sometimes in the literal sense, noise is the traffic outside your window. The co-worker on the telephone near you. The infant or toddler screaming at you. Your phone ringing off the hook. The Facebook updates that shake your nerves. Sometimes, it’s not literal. Sometimes, it’s the noise in your head that nobody can hear. It’s things that you cant get out of your mind, but don’t want to admit or say.

Trouble, is the same way. It can be so literal…you know, family drama. Friend drama. Your drama. Trouble at work or school. Or, just something that keeps you awake at night. Makes you toss and turn. Affects your dreams. Keeps you from relaxing, even in the hottest, steamiest, quietest shower.

Hard work can be everything from actual work, to desk work. Yard work, to laundry. Or, just the fact that you have to work hard to get out of bed every day, or prepare meals, or just to put a smile on. Hard work can generally be defined as: meeting the demands of others.

It’s up to you, and you alone, to find the strength to find peace inside, regardless of all the noise, trouble, and hard work in your life.

How I {personally} find my peace:

Use my most inspiring, uplifting friends as ventilations systems, and they love me anyway.
Take pictures. For some reason, it’s de-stressing.
Clean. duh
Jam out. Something about the following recipe does it for me, fast: Lyrics+Music+Dancing=inner bliss.
Drive. Regardless of season, a back road does it for me.
NOT reading. For some reason, I get so frustrated with the characters in the books when I’m not happy on the inside.
Pray. I’m not always the church-goer, but God and I have never stopped talking about life.
Look around at the season around me, and find something I love about it. Right now, Autumn smells amazing, and the trees are telling big stories

It seems when we are stressed out, that our inside thoughts make our outside world exponentially more stressful, overbearing, and irritating. It exaggerates reality. Before you assume the world is against you, find a way to breathe deep.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. ~Emerson

Regardless of how the day ends, or how horrible you sleep, leave it alllllll behind and move on. Life can only drag you down as low as you let it.

Yours Truly,
Nomz