Finding a moment of Peace

@cperry2 Beautifully stated!

Water is my close second choice. I grew up and have never been very far from forests. I feel like I am walking among elders when I am there.

Yes, that works for me too. With the beach a mile to my west, i go there often. Mostly I walk when there, but sometimes I will lay on the sand and become part of nature.

Hopefully she won't drag you off to help her shop @cperry2

Hey, I garden and am always puttering at something out there. That's where I spend my breaks from writing. (Well, at least when my wife is not dragging me off to do this or that.)

@rebelann heaven forbid!! went shoe shopping with her once. 4 hours later (in same store) she had not found anything she liked. I was pulling my hair out by two hours.. She relented and took me home.

Very nice. Thanks for the link. I haven't heard that in a very long time.

Oh, me too. Living near the ocean is a God Send. I can sit in the sand and watch the waves as they wash the shore. The sound can carry me away.

@cperry2 I often miss the Mediterranean, here is beautiful, but we only have lakes, no sea.

@LadyDuck I can understand that. If I had to move inland again, I would certainly miss the Pacific Ocean. Though sometimes, when life has got me going in circles, I tend to take it all for granted.

@cperry2 i understand. different people.have different backgrounds. all.of us go through problems and failures. there is a point in my.life when i almost lose hope when in fact im.a positive thinker but God.Jah is good. He.will.always make.some.way to bring back that hope we sometimes.lose.

@Janet357 Most of the time, I see things positively. I guess it is under times of stress that I struggle. I suppose that is common. But, given a bit of time, given a bit of time for meditation, I can release the stress and the calmness returns, and with it the positive outlook.

I guess it was my upbringing, but my mind's first inclination is to dive into the negative. I have to fight to bring positive thoughts about. It is where I want my mind to dwell, yet, I struggle to keep it there sometimes.

@cperry2 I've always lived - well, mostly anyway - in the country with space around me and the bush not too far off. I don't do very well in suburbia.

I've always loved the forests. I grew up with one bordering my back yard and I have almost always been within a mile or two of one. I cannot get out there much anymore, but the pictures can convey the feeling. And my memories certainly can. It is a perfect spot for me to sit and feel at peace with the world.

@JudyEv You and me both. I don't care for crowds and The place I lived in California, well it felt like the houses were nearly on top of one another. The newer ones one could nearly step from rooftop to rooftop. --- Might as well be living in apartments.

@cperry2 Right you are! When it gets warmer I actually plan on trying to walk along the beach more. There is a park near there too I could sit and watch the water.

Keep your eye out, those spots are everywhere.

@VivaLaDani13 Dumb yank that I am I forget you are in the middle of winter. Silly me.

Oh, it can be difficult to quiet the mind, especially if you have never done it before. One exercise I learned years ago was to sit, feet flat on the floor, hands comfortably on lap, but not clasped or even touching. Set a timer for three minutes, Find a spot on a wall and look at it only. Do not allow your vision to move from that spot (unless there is danger of course) Notice the thoughts that come. do not engage, let them float away. The important part is to keep your active mind quiet, Thoughts will come, do not engage with them, do not force them away, that is engaging, simply let them float past. This sound so incredibly easy, but I found it almost impossible for the first half dozen times I did it. Then one day it was like I was only an observer watching. Just knowing I did not need to and certainly did not have to engage in the thoughts was freeing.

@cperry2 Clint thank you so much and I am going to bring this to my e-mail and try it. I understand what you are saying that it is not easy but eventually if I do it enough maybe it will sink in.

That too is a type of meditation. What I offered is a way for someone who has never had the ability to find inner peace to put their foot on the path. There are many paths to that place, this is the one that got me started. I no longer practice this way but I might resort to it if I have a particularly stressful day.

@cperry2 Oh I know exactly what you are saying. I pick and choose each song I listen to very carefully. No, it is not silly at all. I completely understand you.

I have to be very careful with music. I love it, don't get me wrong but I have so many memories tied up to the songs I used to listen to, those that my school band chose to play, or the ones that I got to hear performed by the local orchestra, that I tend to fall into the memories rather than into the music. Some times that is okay, often times, I find myself depressed for the times gone past. Silly I know, but that is how my brain works.

@cperry2 haha that is right tho

I like the visual here, for me, i would be wanting there to be some clouds. the puffy kind that sometimes look like animals. I can picture myself doing that now. lying in a field somewhere and watching the clouds float by changing shape in small bits.