Inner Peace

It is a wonderful state of mind when in the quietest moments you can listen to the sound of your own heart beating and you realize that even for that short time, you can enjoy some moments of silence that are filled with peace.  Our lives are so busy these days that people have created businesses around the idea that you need some guidance in the form of meditation that essentially is the same quiet time that we all get in different parts of the day.  If you are religious, then those moments can be comprised of prayer, when you are connected to your higher power.  When I was young I learned to pray through my grandmother and mother and most of my prayers were short as they rhymed, which made it easier for them to became part of my daily rituals.  My grandmother had lots of these and she made sure they were ingrained in me, as it was an important lesson she wanted to teach me about our faith and being grateful to God.  Through her teachings I learned that you can pray at any time through out the day, as you gave your care to someone that was much more powerful than you could ever be.  Whether it was a prayer before a meal or a night time thankful prayer for the day I had been given, I learned to be grateful well before it became hip to have a gratitude journal.  I can recall asking myself what was I thankful for at a young age and my list was not very long.  I struggled to figure out why I did not have certain things that my friends had, which made my gratitude reflection somewhat fragmented as the detours of my mind made me a bit confused about what was important to be thankful for.  I was also more self centered, which brings all things to a place that are not the most ideal to begin with. Now as an adult, I find my list at any given time can be longer if I think long enough about what I have that makes me fulfilled.  Yet, interestingly enough, I find that being grateful for very simple things also condenses my list to a less lengthy itemization of things.  Whether it is in the early morning or late at night, I run through some of the things that I am so appreciate of having and I can feel how it even changes my breathing the moment I begin to go through that process.  It was a long time before I realized that inner peace can come from those specific instances, when you realize that you have so much gratitude for things that are not necessarily materialistic in nature.  The ability to get up, see and hear a new day, realizing that you have people that love you, while you have enough good health to realize that others may not be so fortunate, is reason enough for one to breathe deeply as you exhale in a peace filled state.  The next time you find your mind cluttered with distracting thoughts, think about all of the good that is currently in your life and don't worry about the quantity in which it exists.  Instead, be mindful that you have many things to be grateful for and pay attention as you breathe in with self realization, while as you exhale you can pay attention to the calming effect of realizing that you are more blessed than others.