It seems that people in the world are always looking after inner peace. Yet, the much-needed inner peace seems to be ever more elusive.
I heard interviews with some celebrities and well-known personalities who said that they always looked forward to “making it,” thinking that once they reached that place, they will be happy. Yet, when they reached the fame and fortune, they found emptiness. Too many of them said that they feel lonely despite having many people working and associating with them.
This was very surprising. However, they explained that having the goal of reaching the top, gave them the daily drive to grind and to keep going to work overtime with little time for other things in life. However, once they reached the top, they began feeling empty, and they lost the drive to keep working hard.
In some extreme cases, the emptiness and lack of inner peace, they said, led to some rich celebrities to suffer from depression. Others sold their possessions and began living a very simple and sometimes a reclusive lifestyle. Yet, others just took stock of their lives and to discover how they can reach inside themselves and find the peace from within rather than from others or from stuff.
Peace of mind and soul, real inner happiness, is a state in which your brain and heart are calm, at ease, living in a state of tranquility, no matter what is going on around you.
Speaking to people and watching people’s actions and lifestyle, it appears that some are constantly running after happiness and success in the hopes that having a lot of money and the freedom to be able to get and do whatever they want will help them reach the ultimate goal of having inner peace and a happy, peaceful life.
However, the opposite seems to be true. It seems that people don’t realize the value of a simple lifestyle, which can lead to the most inner peace and happiness.
Having money makes life a lot easier and can provide happiness, but, it cannot buy inner peace, which comes from within the person and from simply enjoying your everyday surroundings.
Looking around, it seems that people are becoming slaves to their lifestyle, working themselves to the bone, so they can pay for nice homes, cars, band name clothes, upscale restaurants and luxury vacations. Yet the inner peace eludes them.
Those stuff may make people around you say, “wow! Look at that family, they got it all!” People may be jealous and maybe want to associate with you because of your wealth or status. However, no one but you, knows what’s behind the smile, and how you feel inside. Sadly, nor do they care.
The reason is that real inner peace comes from being happy with yourself rather than from outside sources such as money, stuff or from other people. It’s not to say that one should not work and acquire money and stability. Instead, don’t allow the money to dictate your life or your standard. Having the money is a good thing, but keeping the money is even better.
Look around and see, for the most part, when people make a certain amount of money, they spend according to their income, and as soon as they get a raise, they immediately increase their bills. The more money they make, the more they spend. I find that this is the biggest hindrance to inner peace. Living comfortably, yes, having excess and more than you really need, causes stress and robs a person of inner peace.
There is a big difference between what you need and what you want. Example, need: you need a home and a roof over your head. Want: The size of the home.
I met a woman who had 2 children at the time, and was living in a four-bedroom apartment. She said that she insisted on getting a big enough apartment so that she will not have to move as her family grows. Her family was able to afford the bigger place with extra rooms. She felt that the extra expense was worth if for her peace of mind, knowing that she will be able to live there for many years.
For the time being, each one of her 2 young children had their own room, this is definitely not a necessity as children like to sleep in the same room and spend their downtime together. Although, it is a nice thing for each to have their own space.
However, a while later, her husband got an offer for a top position in his company if he agreed to relocate to another country. They took the offer. Now, all the extra money they spent on the extra space, decorating it, and the money spent for the cleaning help to maintain the bigger place all went to waste. It was not a need, but rather a want. This want gave her temporary peace of mind, but in the long run, it left her with the pain of knowing that she wasted all the money and resources for nothing. A person has no idea what the future holds, therefore, it is not wise to spend now for something that may or may not happen.
See bank reports and statistics, and you will find that many people bought nice homes that were bigger than their current need and at a time they can afford it, only to lose it when the economy crashed, or when they lost their jobs.
The Torah says in Pirkei Avos 4:1 איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו Who is rich? He who happy with what they have.
Inner peace and happiness comes from connection with yourself, and other human beings.
Try it, challenge yourself, look inside yourself and see your self-worth. See how many people around you love you and depend on you. See how many people, you can uplift by connecting, listening and caring about them and their well-being. This will make you a happy person and people will want and need you for who you are and not for your money or status, and this is what leads to real inner happiness and inner peace.
