Pockets of Peace: Where Chaos Meets Calm
It’s 7 am. You were up at 11, then 3, then 5.
You have a major meeting at work that you’re presenting on, and you just remembered it’s your turn for room snack. Oh wait, is that a down pour of rain you hear? And the windows were left open in your car? Ahh. When the Sunday scaries become your Monday morning reality. We’ve all been here. It’s a dark, gloomy place, and there often times feels like little hope to hang on to. The reality of this is that we live in these days more often than not. That can come with feelings of hopelessness, dread, and down right anger. So what do we do? How do we move forward when this scenario happens weekly? Enter pockets of peace. This term is exactly as it sounds: a moment in your day to find stillness. In our perfect world, our whole day is peaceful. However, we have to be realistic. Life is a lot, and it requires…a lot. A lot of effort, emotion, time. Each time we expend energy, we need to replenish it, nourish it, and acknowledge our needs. Let’s chat more on how we can maintain that.
It’s been known for a while in the wellness world that gratitude adds value to our mental health. More recently, we’ve honed in on the timing in which we pause for gratitude. We glean more when we pause in a moment of gratitude and savor the moment, as opposed to stockpiling gratitude at the end of the day as our head hits the pillow or we are brushing our teeth. This is because we make memories and moments through mindfulness, which is the act of present moment awareness. In order to be aware, we must remain curious. Curiosity allows our nervous system to pause, notice, and reflect. What does this look like in a practical moment? It’s noticing when you’ve gotten every green light on the way to pick up your kids. It’s paying attention to the red in the leaves as the trees change for Fall. It’s feeling every part of a hug from your child, or the way your dogs fur feels when you pet them. It’s being able to listen to your favorite song after hearing Baby Shark for the 30th time in a 10 minute car ride. Or, it’s the first deep breath you take of the day. The taste of a nourishing meal that you’ve been looking forward to. It’s small pockets of stillness.
Using sensory engagement throughout the day allows us to develop a natural curiosity that provides peace. When we are mindful and become gracious of the mindful moment, we receive a pocket a peace. Not only do we deserve these small moments, we need them. We need them to build strength and resilience when life is lifing and we have little left to give. It doesn’t take much to define your own pocket of peace. Simply find a moment in your day that creates stillness. Savor that moment through gratitude and continue on until your next opportunity to pause. Pockets of peace are not indulgences; they’re necessary moments of restoration that help us handle life’s ongoing demands with more strength and calm.
