Vitamin Peace

It's amazing, the lengths to which we go to attain peace. Meditation, running, prayer, banging one's head against one's bedroom wall. All forms of the age-old struggle for serenity.

My friend Julie has found comfort in mindfulness, in naming emotions as they surface and letting them be 'tiny thoughts' that don't rule her. She has also found comfort in art. I visited her work in a local gallery last week, and saw in the soft sheen of her canvasses a reflection of a heart deeply fulfilled by each piece's formation. The paintings, each one, provided windows into the most beautiful part of Julie's soul, and I left feeling as though we'd just shared a deep, unfiltered chat. I left feeling renewed.

My friend Joie, on the other hand, seems to pursue peace through activities of a different sort. She actually enjoys her morning runs and even brings along her black Lab, Sophie, for good measure. Her home is the scene of so much life, so much free exploration, it practically pulsates with explosive energy from within. (Maybe the multiple toddlers she cares for have something to do with that.) From making umpteen-hundered quarts of applesauce while packing for a camping trip to starting her own worm farm as a side business, Joie finds peace in what many would consider the most exhausting lifestyle on earth. But her eyes always sparkle and her step always bounces the most when she's in the midst of her wild activities - so I know she's found what brings her heart rest.

And my friend Audrey: Now she's a rare bird, and a fine one. We're just getting acquainted in that slow, awkward shuffle called "Our Children Really Want to be Friends" - but it appears to me that her peace finds a home in anything feathered or furry. Her pursuits involve leading an entire 4-H club, feeding and housing multiple breeds of chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, and turkeys, and attending bird shows on the weekend. For some people, that much exposure to all things with wings would start the sanity siren wailing. But Audrey's whole demeanor exuded silent joy when I met her at a recent 4-H event, "They're doing so well," she said of her twenty-some members and their various living entries. "It's been a really great experience for everyone. I'm so pleased."

I'm so pleased.

This same phrase could have been spoken by Joie, Julie, my beautiful cello-playing friend Sally, or me, while I type quietly at this computer. Isn't pleasure truly the culmination of all our peace pursuits? Maybe it's not so much escaping the Crazy we live with, but finding the Amaze-y that helps us really live. Pleasure and peace often walk hand in hand, after all. This is why we turn to certain things on repeat - things as unique as the texture of our hair or the flecks of color in our laughing eyes.

I love it! Our inner selves scream as we skydive, prune trees, or do math. This is what I was made for! 

I think finding that peace - that slice of pure pleasure - does speak to our ultimate intention. For in creating, singing, running, or writing, we enter into the part of the heart of our God that He's reserved especially for us. He designed us to experience these joys so deeply because He is the source of all pleasure. And when we keep that pleasure channel open by returning to it again and again, we are keeping our hearts soft toward Him - even if we don't know it yet.

Our pursuit of peace. Our passion for pleasure. They take us directly to the presence of the Giver who designed all these good gifts to point us back to His love. And when we find it, we hear from Him the words we've spoken for so long, while we sought Him.

I'm so pleased.