Peace is Heroic

When I was young, Tuesday was my favorite day of the week.  You know how it is when you're a kid...you have to know your list of "favorites".  Blue was my favorite color, although my sister whom I shared a bedroom with won out and our bedroom was decorated in yellow & orange.  My favorite candy was red licorice nibs, my favorite food was cheese enchiladas from a restaurant in town, my favorite TV show was Laverne & Shirley and my favorite day of the week was Tuesday.  However, as I learned at a young age, things don't always go our way....hence the yellow & orange bedroom rather than a blue one.  But when things do go our way, it's a good day! 
The definition of what makes a day good can vary.  Maybe it's finding a front parking spot.  Maybe it's winning tickets to a concert. Perhaps it's having a good hair day and a clear complexion.  When things "go" our way, it feels good.  We feel at peace with the universe.  But what about the days when we can't find any good parking spot, our hair just isn't doing what we want it to and I drop my smoothie right after buying it only to have it splash all over the shirt I just ironed?  What about those days? Virginia Woolf said "you cannot find peace by avoiding life." The truth is, peace is easy to project when life is naturally peaceful. Unfortunately, everybody has bad days. Sometimes we find ourselves in hostile territory. In life, we all hit times of turbulence and turmoil.  For me, peace is most disrupted when somebody personally attacks me, invites me into an argument or says something hurtful.  During turbulent times, peace becomes heroic.
Peace becomes heroic when there's turmoil around you and when there's turmoil within you. It would be easier to withdraw or run and hide. Sometimes it's easier to let ourselves turn into a mean and nasty version in order to protect and defend. Sometimes it's easier to betray our self in order to please our critic. These are the times when an opportunity to truly be heroic presents itself to us. So, how do we find peace during turbulent times? Here's a few tips on how to step into your personal power and restore peace when the debris is flying.
1.  Let yourself fully feel the emotion. Don't rush pass this. Don't judge or analyze the emotion. Simply allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you're feeling. Don't get stuck in the emotion. Just feel it fully.....and let it pass.
2.  Peace begins with a smile. I'm not talking about the kind of smile we paint on the outside when we are really hurting on the inside. Practicing self-compassion at this moment is key. Be kind and gentle with yourself. Attune to your true self, not the one being thrown about by the turbulence.
3.  Start breathing. As you inhale and exhale, fill your breaths with affirmations. One of my frequent affirmations is "I love myself anyway". If this doesn't work for you, find one that does.
4.  Choose love. This step will take you really close to your core self. This step will require some work on your part. This is the step where we shift our feelings and thoughts from fear or anger to love. Refer back to your favorite quotes, favorite scripture passages, your personal standards of truth. Remind yourself who you truly are.
5.  Face the truth you fear. Own the part you've played in this story. Fix what you can. Surrender what you can't. Get right with yourself and with others, if possible.