Peace isn’t easily found anymore. Even if we don’t have children, the world is overpopulated and in the midst of an angry revolution which half of us battle daily for our rights, while the other wishes to keep its privilege and control at our expense. Day-to-day life is exhausting.
While our lives lack the ideal balance of effort and rest, peace can be found from time to time. In the interest of self-care, we owe it to ourselves to seek it out. Not only is it good for our mental health, but in the long term, it also benefits our physical health. So if we don’t want our masseuse to be grinding rocks in our shoulders, we should make it our mission to find this elusive serenity. Not sure where to look? Here’s where you can find some.
Silence
It might sound obvious, but it’s easy to forget the impact of silence on our mental health, especially if we live in big cities. Constant noise and stimulation makes us feel frazzled and worn down, and sometimes it doesn’t occur to us that this could be the cause, especially for people with undiagnosed sensory issues.
The greatest benefit of even short periods of silence is a sensation of peace, and even five minutes can give us a bit of respite from an over-stimulating world. By taking a short break out to the country, or investing in a pair of sound-proof headphones, we can be reminded of the soothing power of silence.
A bath
Scented candles, essential oils and maybe something really cool like a dragon-shaped bath bomb. Sounds heavenly. This might seem like another pretty obvious suggestion, but pampering ourselves often gets pushed to the wayside in favour of saving time and honouring the urge to be productive. Even the most obvious solutions to stress relief can be forgotten when we choose to postpone relaxation.
Putting aside half an hour for a good soak will do wonders for our productivity. Peace and relaxation revitalises us and gives us renewed energy to jump back into life at 100%. Put your evening on hold for a while and give yourself the fuel you need to grab life by the horns.
Forest bathing
This is a neat activity that isn’t nearly widespread enough. Forest bathing is a Japanese concept that encourages people to immerse themselves in nature as a means of relaxing and recharging. It’s simple: find a nice, quiet forest somewhere, ideally without swamps or bears (because they are pretty stressful, in case you were wondering), and just chill. Take a blanket and a book, or hell, just take a nap, but whatever you do, don’t bring your phone.
Over-stimulation can really help exacerbate stress, and there is no better way to eliminate that than removing all the noise and bustle from our lives for a while. The ambience that nature provides is perfect to help us feel a little more at peace.
YouTube
Hear me out! I’m not talking about Dr. Phil and Jeremy Kyle re-runs. For all its weird and wonderful videos, YouTube can actually be the best place to find some peace. Chillstep live, Ambient and Chilled Cow are some of the best channels to find really relaxing, often lyric-less music. Some videos are hours long, others are on a continuous live stream loop, sporting beautiful, calming backgrounds provided by talented artists.
The best bit? This music is multi-functional. If you’re trying to relax, get to sleep or focus on work, there’s a whole variety of different videos for our purposes. Forget the rainforest CDs with screechy exotic birds and bubbling streams that make us want to pee. YouTube is the place to get your peace tracks.
While peace is often determined to avoid us, there are ways we can incorporate it into our lives. Even in some of the most unsuspecting places we can find some time to indulge in some peace and quiet to recharge our batteries. Invest in our bodies and minds by seeking out serenity and embracing it when we’ve found it, and our quality of life will sky-rocket. Those pockets of peace are out there, so let’s grab them while they’re there.
