Peace of mind seems like a scarce commodity in today’s frantic world. There is talk everywhere of the importance of taking care of our mental heal. Our minds are working overtime to find balance while doing our best to safeguard our future. The windmill of anxiety keeps turning and most of us are swinging hopelessly on the blades, uncertain how to make it all stop. We long for peace in this chaos, but nothing works and we sink deeper into despair, desperately seeking a lifeboat to take us out of the mess. Peace, sweet peace! In this madness, how do we take control of our thoughts and experience joy and happiness? How do we move from just existing to living abundant lives?
Peace, happiness, and wholeness can be ours if learn how to protect our minds from the chaos. We must stop accepting brokenness, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues are normal. Many of us have inherited chaos and wear it like a batch of honor, not realizing how unhealthy we really are. The road to a healthier state of mind is shorter than we think, but it begins with recognizing we have the power to change our mindset. Peace in chaos will only happen when we can accept that we have to learn to manage our minds in the same way we manage our careers, families, and all the other things important to us.
Peace in chaos happens when we master the art of decluttering our minds. Many of our minds are like an old house with faulty wiring, ancient furniture, and fixtures that are frozen in time. Our negative thoughts, actions, relationships, and memories control all aspects of our lives, often leaving us feeling helpless. The good book in Matthew 15: 11 reminds us it is what comes out of our seat of consciousness that leads to our chaos and lack of peace. We lack peace when our minds are overburdened with things of little value to our existence. The first lesson in finding peace is to do an inventory and clear out the causing chaos.
Chaos will look different for everybody. What is chaos for me might be a source of abundant living for someone else. We have to decide what chaos looks like for ourselves and not focus so much on what others are doing. It doesn’t take much to be free from chaos, but it requires a certain attitude. Paul in Philippians 4: 11-13 says his peace was found in him learning contentment despite his circumstances. While being in a Roman prison in chains, physically he was in chaos, but his attitude allowed him to have freedom from it. Like Paul, our peace in this chaos will come from our learning outside of our circumstances.
In the words of legendary reggae singer Robert Nesta Marley, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds” our peace will come when we emancipate ourselves from what holds us captive. This world may flourish in chaos, but we don’t have to be willing subjects. We are slaves to the masters that control us and chaos has never proven to be an excellent master. We must change our perspective and visualize ourselves rising above the chaos and finding the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4: 7). Chaos is not our friend, but peace is a welcomed companion. It takes work to achieve it, but it is certainly worth the effort.
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