Peace Is A Practice

Just yesterday I was having lunch with a friend and we started talking about where we grew up. In his case it was Long Island, New York with lots of time spent in Manhattan. A real city boy!

He now lives here in Western N. Carolina where I do and has no plans to ever go back to New York to live. He shared how even visiting there puts him right back into the high stimulus, impatience and stress of the area. When he visits to see family or for work, before he knows it he notices that he takes on the same thinking and behaviors that he used to have when living there – much to his dismay.

This had me reflecting on how we can go into past behaviors and ways of being when confronted with places or people we spent a great deal of time in and with, situations growing up, or past traumas or memories. All of this laid down in our body/minds at very deep levels. It takes just one trigger, or in his case a multitude of simultaneous triggers, to take us right back into ways of being that we thought we had given up or healed a long time ago.

I started wondering how it would be to go back to these places, people and situations with a solid and grounded peace within. Would we still be taken off center and shift back into what used to be?

We obviously have continuous opportunities to test this during the chaotic times of unrest we live in right now, besides what we have experienced in our lives up to now. As I sit here in a clients home where I am house and dog/kitty sitting I bring the cup of tea mindfully up to my lips to take a sip. The birdsong is all around, the wind ruffles the leaves into a relaxing background sound, and the view is astonishingly beautiful.

View from Blue Ridge Mountains, Weaverville, N. Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott

It is easy to find peace in this setting. But what about the daily personal and global situations, stress, fear based ungrounded news and social media feeds we are bombarded with, high expectations coming mostly from within that we try to blame on others, financial and health concerns, fear of death….and it goes on and on if we place our attention there.

But what if there is another way to be. Where nothing takes you from a center of peace inside. That your actions and ways of being come from this deep well that never changes.

Before Thich Nhat Hahn’s passing I had followed his teachings, sat in sangha with him when he was in California, and always greatly respected his way of being and teaching, especially given what he was confronted with during the Vietnam war. It just so happens that this morning my email contained the video that is below and was a perfect reminder of coming from that place inside.

On this elder and human journey death comes closer in our awareness as we age. Knowing that at any time we can be taken from this physical existence, impressing upon us the desire to make the moments we have now count.

We can be in fear of it or realize that death must happen and is necessary for new life to appear. It can be as simple as moment to moment cell death within our bodies to make room for new cells and new life…..or it can be coming to terms with facing our inevitable death from this lifetime and this body. It can even be injuries, illness or surgeries that change the landscape of our daily being, activities, thinking and abilities.

How do we live life to the fullest in the present moment when faced with these challenges and possible restrictions and limitations?.

I certainly don’t have all the answers as I sit here injured myself, but I can certainly practice. Practice taking my focus off of limitation, restriction, fear and discomfort….and instead place my attention on the graceful movement of moments.

I have a great teacher right now whom I watch and take note. She is completely in the moment with all of her senses and if I needed an example of mindful walking she would be the one I would look to. Her name is Reese, and yes she is a doggie. *(see below for past post link on Reese)

There are times in the elder journey that accessing that peaceful center seems more challenging as an aging body seems to surprise you every day with a new challenge, and the violence and injustice all over continues. Once again, I ask myself the question where do I wish to place my focus and attention?

Not denying the challenges but learning from them. Coming from a space of peace inside instead of being in a state of reaction. This can affect everyone around you bringing clarity and calm in stressful situations and a powerful way you can be part of the shift towards peace. That is the practice….and it is not always easy.

Perhaps it is the challenges in life that teach us the most and bring us back to cultivating that deep well of peace within. So many daily opportunities to do just that. Join me there in the practice…..

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*You can find a post on Reese as my teacher and guide in mindfulness and being in the moment here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2023/05/26/lessons-from-reese/ I just reread the post and realized that I have let go of agendas so much more since a year ago and have woven mindful ways of being into my daily life. I am grateful for the constant guidance of nature and animals….

Black Bear of the Blue Ridge Mountains – one of my teachers/Photography by Gaye Abbott

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I invite you now to spend 23 mindful moments watching the video below: Uncommon Conversations: Thich Nhat Hanh and Br. David Steindl-Rast and Gratefulness

These two old friends – a Buddhist monk and a Benedictine monk – talk about their common work for peace; gratefulness bringing one into the now; the powers to let go, to forgive and to understand; and the power of community. The young monks at Plum Village speak to Anthony Chavez about their spiritual practice.

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Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 05/23/24