Each one has to find his own peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. –Mahatma Gandhi
Find peace within. According to Merriam-Webster, “rest in peace” is used to say that one hopes a person who has died will have peace in death. As vital as peace is in the end, we should live in peace, too. Be at peace in the present. That makes a difference. Just saying.
Through my own trials and tribulations, enduring my abusive childhood, never being good enough for Dad, never good enough for me, I’ve found my peace within. The late Mizukami Sensei taught me Aikido, what it is to be a good man, to be of service to others. Sensei said, “Just train. It’s not like you have to get somewhere.” I work on myself, not on others. Ishibashi Sensei teaches, “Apply the (Aikido) technique to yourself.” It’s only me against me.
O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba said, “True victory is victory over oneself.” I’m my GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) opponent. In the bigger picture, I overcome myself.
The 250-pound man comes to punch me. I wait it out. I enter the attack and die with honor. I match up the attack in my attack. I’ll take a glancing blow if I have to. It’s one time. I don’t look at the attacker. The attacker and the attack are irrelevant. I choose to let the attack pass or end the attack. The attacker chooses to take the fall or stand down. It’s about choice.
I enter the attack, enter what I fear. In the center of the attack is the safest place to be. I apply the Aikido technique to myself whether that’s iriminage (clothesline to the head) or kotegaeshi (wristlock). I work on myself, not on the attacker. Under the attack, in the chaos of circumstance, I discover peace within me.
The peace within isn’t about locating that place where peace exists. Amidst the chaos and unrest, I invent my greater-than version. I’m as authentic as I can be. I choose who I am, what I do. That’s my peace within.
Gandhi said the peace within doesn’t depend upon circumstances, upon surroundings. I create stillness within me: Everything quiet. The late Mizukami Sensei said, “Just train.” I don’t have to get somewhere or prove anything. I work on the best version of me. Just train. Make it work.
I work with my therapist Lance to heal my childhood trauma and depression. I put in the work. I look at my fear within, my fear of Dad, that fear of not being good enough. Over the years, I had earned my 5th degree black belt in hating on myself. I couldn’t just love myself from my zero, my starting point. I could start by hating on me a lot less. I practiced that over, and over, and over, and over again. Practice makes the unnatural, natural. On that path, I learned to love myself for who I am and forgive myself for who I’m not. I live in peace with myself.
Perhaps when my life is complete, when all is said and done, I’ll rest in peace. At the end of our journeys, may we all Rest in Peace. Amen. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to live in peace. May we all live in peace. In the bigger picture, love and forgive thine own self. Have the life worth living. Just saying.
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