Finding Peace in Turbulent Times
May you live in interesting times… Did you know this expression is actually the translation of a Chinese curse? Everyone desires peace and though “interesting times” can be anything, they are not usually peaceful.
There is no doubt that we live in interesting times:
Ukrainian war
Artificial intelligent chatbots
Political chaos
Financial uncertainty
Chaotic weather
...The list goes on. It’s easy to become distracted, worried, stressed and to go down a rabbit hole or two for more information that really will not serve us well in the end.
My mom sent over a devotion this week and I thought it appropriate to share as this is Holy week. It was a story about a mother on boat with several other passengers hopping between islands in Hawaii. The water was getting rough, so the captain came over the loud speaker and told everyone to get on deck and keep their eye on the horizon to avoid getting sick. Only a few listened and consequently, the rest were ill-fated.
The devotion was about ignoring the captain in our life, but there is another lesson in this story.
The water in life gets rough from time to time. When we take our eyes off of the horizon, we suffer. And like being sea sick, you may feel that you probably aren’t going to recover until your feet hit dry land.
There is no doubt that we live in interesting times. The choppy water is all around us. I encourage you to ask yourself…What is your horizon? What do you need to keep your eyes on?
You may know this well or you may not. You may need to take some time to figure it out, so here are some tried and true methods that might help you:
You can write your own eulogy
Ask your older self to look back at your life and reflect on what you are most proud of
Think about what your grandkids or community will say about you
Ask yourself what you don’t want to regret
Or imagine yourself hearing our Lord say “Well done, good and faithful servant….” What did that mean?
The truth is that we do live in interesting times. It is also true that no one or one thing can bring you peace but yourself. Find your horizon and don’t lose sight of it.
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