Finding Peace

“Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.”
—  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

     It's very difficult for me to stop and truly relax.  Relaxation is one of the components (for me) of finding peace. I have tried meditation to no avail.  When I stop and try to just close my eyes and quiet my mind, it opens the floodgates and I end up thinking about work, about things I need to get done, about bills that need to be paid or laundry that needs to be done.  It's a struggle for me to shut everything out.

    I read an article today about meditation for children in this online magazine.  I found myself really envying these little girls in that they, at such a young age, really get it.  They have their little "Peace Tent" set up in the living room and when the want quiet time, when they want to meditate, when they want to just get away from the chaos of family life, they have a safe place to go to do so.   What a terrific gift their parents have given them!  These girls know the importance of solitude and are making it a way of life and it will be natural for them as they become adults.

     I also have seen that those that are MOST successful at using meditation (or prayer) to shut out all of the stress of daily life and quiet their soul have a specific place that they use to go to when they want to devote the time to really getting inside themselves.  A prayer room, out in nature, even just a specific chair that is particularly comfortable and away from all of the noise.  They may have different accoutrements that they use to get themselves into that place- candles, a journal, a bible, a blanket- or they may not need anything at all but either way they go to the place and are able to devote the time that they need to shut out the world around them.  Perhaps that's the key?

    I have a chair in my bedroom.  It's a comfy chair that is sort of a rocker but not.  I have hundreds of candles and several books (like Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance) that I enjoy to get me in the mood for quieting my soul.  I think this weekend- when I am not in the midst of the work week and after I have slept off come of this exhaustion, I will give that chair a try.  My husband generally works Saturday morning so I can wait until he is at work and the house is quiet and just go sit in my chair.  Maybe I will read for a while, maybe just sit, maybe put on some relaxing music, but I will carve out some time to give it a try.
It won't hurt- but it will definitely help if it works.