While taking photos on the last day of 2021, I heard a passerby giving his interlocutor New Year’s greetings by phone.
One wish caught my attention. What was it? Well, an anonymous passerby wished the interlocutor a peaceful new year. I began to wonder what a person’s inner peace can really depend on. Indeed, events such as a personal tragedy (illness or the death of a beloved one), the COVID-19 pandemic, a possible economic crisis, or war (for some time, mainstream media scare of war that could burst near Poland – the Russian troops are gathering at the border with Ukraine), can undoubtedly disturb a one’s peace of mind. Still, I also realized that we could be at inner ease in our heads, no matter what happens.
The condition is to arrange many things in one’s head properly, to answer many fundamental questions yourself. In my opinion, we should remember that, in the end, we will all eventually die anyway. This is how I bring peace to my mind, heart, and spirit when I think about death.
Seneca’s stoic philosophy can certainly also bring peace to your life, my Dear Friend.
The Roman philosopher compared man to a rock in the middle of the sea. The stone is invariably struck by the waves of the rough sea. The gusty, cold wind does not give it peace. Lightning strikes it from the sky – but the rock is still standing. To a large extent, I wish you, my Dear Friend, to be a rock that will live peacefully, despite the chaos that surrounds us all.
On the other hand, to find peace in our souls, we can try not to forget Bruce Lee’s words, “Be like water.” The famous artist said to be formless, shapeless, and not to feel pain or anything else when someone attacks you. For me, Bruce Lee wanted to tell us to adjust to every situation we can only imagine. I have no doubts that we will find peace in our minds in this way. As a chronicler, I will add that this text is the last one I wrote in 2021. Have a peaceful Every Year!
