Is Peace the True Meaning of Life?

Is there a deeper meaning to life, or am I just confused?

For millennia, humans have pondered this topic, looking for insight in various disciplines, including the arts, sciences, and philosophy as well as within themselves. Despite the many trips made both inside and outside of these regions, the answer to this question remains elusive. But many different lines of thought converge on a common theme: peace itself may be the ultimate goal of human existence.

To that end, what exactly is peace? According to Merriam-Webster, the definiton is:

“freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions”

To suggest that the meaning of life is to break free of shackling ideas and feelings is an admirable but lofty aspiration. In particular, some people find themselves constantly weighed down by repressive thoughts, and they would wish to be free of this load. For others, achieving tranquility may require nothing more than working on their mental health so that their emotions no longer dominate their actions. However, most of us can agree that greater personal autonomy is a key to tranquility.

The notion of peace may vary from person to person, but in the end, its universality ensures that it may be applied to everyone. Which begs the question, how can we pursue peace in order to enrich our lives?

Michelle Maros writes about the importance of mindfulness and awareness in the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment. It's easy to make large changes in our lives when we're looking for purpose, but it's better to start small. By paying attention to our day-to-day choices and actions, we might uncover methods to live with greater meaning without making drastic adjustments.

A good starting point is to figure out what it is that brings you the most joy. According to Michelle:

You should make it your duty to discover happiness in the simplest of things. Get back to the activities you loved doing as a kid. Develop your imagination in new ways and make time to indulge it.

Finding inner calm and purpose requires taking time apart for personal reflection and exploration. There are, however, those who regard the path to tranquility in a different light.

Some people advocate for accepting one's environment in its current state rather than attempting to create one's own private sanctuary. Instead of trying to impose peace, Lidiya K suggests we concentrate on these three principles.

Acceptance -- Simply allowing things to be as they are;

Being here -- is savoring and paying attention to the situation at hand;

letting go-- refers to putting aside judgment, comparison, and unnecessary thought.

It will take time and effort to develop these three habits into your routine. When used alone, though, each is a powerful resource.

Acceptance

You can get closer to figuring out which aspects of your life are no longer paths to peace if you make a deliberate decision to accept life as it is and feel okay with the parts of it that you like.

Giving Up

Let go of everything from a toxic relationship to a set of rigid plans you had for your life in the past, and you'll have already taken a big step toward a happier future. Expectations are a heavy weight, and when we let them go, we make space for calm and serenity.

Many people have spent years working hard to achieve something, just to reach the end and realize there is something else even more worthwhile to strive for. Letting up of misguided ambitions and replacing them with more realistic ones can be a big step toward inner calm.

Being Here

In spite of its seeming simplicity, many people struggle to fully immerse themselves in the here-and-now. In reality, practicing mindfulness and living in the now is an ongoing, deliberate endeavor that eventually becomes second nature.

Meditation is a terrific way to attain inner calm, and many meditators devote their attention to the here and now during their sessions (5-10 minutes daily). Taking a few deep breaths and focusing on your breathing are just a couple of examples of the small activities that can help tremendously in times of stress.

However, we can all feel anxious when trying to find calm. When it comes to finding calm within and calming our nerves, Taoism offers a wide variety of techniques and points of view. The Tao Te Ching defines what it means to follow one's own path:

"Accepting your existence as an answer to questions of Inner Truth is essential to achieving inner peace," as the saying goes.

In Taoist rituals, we are encouraged to reflect on the numerous unanswered issues that arise in times of intense difficulty. Taoism instructs us to ask more questions until the mind tires and we realize there is more than one answer to every given problem.

The ultimate goal is to realize that you are the only one who can provide a satisfactory response to any question. By doing so, you can forget about the past and plan for the future.

These are not easy accomplishments since our pasts shape who we are and the kind of world we envision for the future. They need not, however, determine the course of our future actions. In this way, they have the potential to serve as lifelong sources of knowledge. By keeping these insights in mind and focusing on the here and now, we can move closer to a state of calm within ourselves.