The May Blogger’s for Peace challenge is to post some form of art and connect it to how it creates peace in your life. For some reason, I really dragged my feet on this one. I’m a very in my head kind of person. Peace for me is usually not a highly visual experience, which is why when I typed peace into Pinterest, I was so excited to see this:
Inner peace.
It reminded me of how in moments of chaos I retreat to peaceful places in my mind– the thought of Hawaiian beaches over summer break has calmed me for two years in a row during teaching’s most frustrating moments. Crashing waves, my wedding day, the warm sun, are all experiences I conjure in my mind when I need peace.
Where do you go? Do you visit with eyes open or eyes closed?
oliviaobryon 
Love the picture! For me, when I need peace, I hide away in books…sometimes in music, but once in a while something in nature will call to me and suddenly there’s this stillness and beauty….unexpected moments of heavenly peace.
Yes, music can do it too– love reading these.
Love the question! I’m more of an open-eyed peace-seeker, finding my center in areas steeped in history (seldom peaceful history, alas) and situated in areas of great physical beauty. They can show the enduring nature of earth and its ability to recover, despite what we humans try to do to it. A grape-laden Umbrian vineyard may have once been an ancient battleground, but continues to bring forth nourishment for the soul and tranquility for the eye.
Beautifully put, I never thought about standing on the battle grounds of history that way. 🙂
Eyes closed. Headphones on. Blues music funneling into the brain. For me, it brings focus to the chaos. Love the question. Thanks!
It’s fun to read all the different versions of peace– yours has a lot of personality! 😀
Aww…thank you!
Love the photo, Olivia. Eyes half open/half closed, just focused on breathing. Can’t wait to return to Hawaii this summer. That should keep me peaceful for a good 12 months. Thank you so much for this post for peace. {{{hugs}}} Kozo
Yes, breathing! How could I forget– I’m learning to harness that too. A yoga instructor recently shared the power of focusing on the exhale instead of the inhale in moments of chaos. I tried it and like it. What island are you guys headed to? We’re off to the north shore of Oahu this year, I can’t wait!
Where do I go? Inside my head. Where do I need to go? Places that foster peaceful thoughts and actions. That’s one of the greatest motivations I have these days … to find those places and put into action … those actions.
Yes, the places that actually create peaceful thought and action are the most powerful. Thoughts are much easier to come by than action. Interesting distinction.
I like that image. I’m an eyes open kind of guy, but as for where I go, it actually depends. I’ve got a couple of places.
Mysterious 😉
When the going gets tough, I keep going … If it’s very tough, I run away crying with a panick attack 😉 Seriously, my shelter is the sea.
Haha, well, running and the sea are definitely good options 😉