Quote taken from a meme and adapted

When I first saw this meme it made me pause from the whirling, hectic pace of life. Not many things do that, as I thought about it more – that we can make choices and that whilst many things are done to us, we do get to decide how we react to them, I found great power in this concept.

I use the word ‘concept’ as we are often programmed to react and whilst we have a choice our subconscious kicks in and we react to old patterns of behaviour like familiar winter coats, even though the coat doesn’t fit any longer or serve us in the moment – we keep wearing it.

One of the ways I have chosen to ‘choose peace’ is by taking a couple of minutes in bed in the morning before getting out. To not fall into the day and let it absorb me but to take a moment to step back (or in my case, snuggle down) and consciously step into my day, deciding how I’m going to feel. I will always choose peace.

If you can find moments to step back, moments to not speak and to let silence do the work for you, peace can follow. That said, leaving your subconscious reactions behind takes the work of a Jedi and I’m certainly no expert. Pausing takes practise and perhaps that’s part of the game of life.

There are however a handful of quick wins that you can use if you need a little more peace…

• Book some time in your week, it could be a bubble bath, but it doesn’t need to be that complex…take half an hour and just sit
• Review your tribe. Spend time with people that fill your cup with joy. If that isn’t possible, then make sure you minimise interactions or go into scenarios with toxic people being kind to yourself
• Catch yourself: currently I’m playing this game where I step out of myself to listen to the ridiculous argument myself and my family are having. If I can reduce an argument about putting socks in the laundry basket by five minutes, we all win
• Seek peace; make time to walk in nature, get outside, hug a tree, walk – whatever makes you feel centred and solid

The last tip is to live this quote on a daily cycle…keep choosing peace until it becomes your subconscious setting. I’m not sure how long this takes, but I have a feeling that just stepping nearer to a peaceful life is a worthy endeavour.