Choose Peace Over Chaos

Thoughts From The Front Porch

For most of us, it’s difficult to find peace in this chaotic world. The news is depressing. The weather can disrupt our lives if the sun just isn’t shining brightly.

I wrote a book a couple of years ago entitled “God Give Me Peace and This Little Book”. It’s first chapter, “Finding a Peaceful Place” presents a key piece of the puzzle of finding inner peace.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary says peace, in a general sense, is a state of tranquility, freedom from disturbance or agitation, applicable to society, to individuals or to the temper of the mind.

“We as humans,” I wrote, “thrive in peaceful settings, places of serenity and calmness. We breathe easier and our contentment level is much higher. Such places promote agreement and encourage meditation on the good things in our lives. Everyone needs such a place for a retreat from the voluminous catalog of disruptions to peace in the world today.”

Scrolling through the thousands of iphone pictures I have, I found a few peaceful photos of places where peace can be found.

Maybe they will help you seek out, in the coming week, a peaceful place for a few minutes or hours of reflection on the good things in your life.

A place by water is a good place to start.

By a lake, this one in Upper Peninsula Michigan

By the sea, this one on Marco Island, Florida

Or by a stream, like this one near my home in northeast Ohio

Watching the sun come up or go down… This sunset from a hill in Carroll County Ohio

Spend time just watching the clouds, looking up to the Heavens. Trumbull County, Ohio

There’s something calming about a daytime view of the moon. Brunswick, Ga.

Consider things that have weathered the storms. Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island

Get outside when the shadows are long. It will make you seem bigger and stronger, thinner too

Always marvel at God’s masterpiece, the rainbow. This double one arched over our home.

And right there is where we found the pot of gold! Finally, financial peace! It was, coincidently, about the time we paid off our mortgage.

Watching swans glide through the water together as mates. Seven Springs Resort, in Pennsylvania

Going to church is a great time to find real peace. These wonderful stained glass windows are at the Fremont United Methodist Church, Fremont, Indiana

Thanks for reading. Your comments and additional advice for peace would make this post more interesting.

Or, you could buy me a cup of coffee here. A good cup brings me peace each morning.