Are you at peace? ... By Iliana Agudo

Are you at peace? What I'm talking about is being at peace with ourselves. How do we get there? I picture it by getting to a place where I feel at one with myself.  When I'm feeling troubled and my mind doesn't shut down, I start to paint. Somehow, no matter how I'm feeling, if I pick up a paint brush it eases my mind. It makes me feel tranquil straight down to my soul. I also enjoy the sound of the water. We have a little water fountain in the house which at times, I will turn on to feel at peace. The sound of the water trickling, it puts me in a state of mind that just soothes my mind, body and soul.

I can picture myself walking on the sand in a beach, looking up at the sky and seeing the seagulls flying by. I can feel the warm sand between my toes, while feeling the sun grazing my cheek. Now I bet you think I must be at the beach in order to feel this way? No, not at all. We can just go to this place or any other that gives us peace of mind, body and spirit just by closing our eyes and letting our mind go to these places... Let your sensory take over. ...

I'm not saying that life is easy, but it's how we can handle it. Putting on meditation music always helps me to relax. It's about doing what you need to do to feel at peace with yourself. We didn't come here to feel pain, stress, negativity or become overwhelmed with life. We came here to just be, to be at peace with who we are. Sometimes it takes some soul searching to really figure out what we want to achieve, the peace we are longing for in our heart and soul. 

No matter what, I know that I can always go a place that makes me feel wonderful. Look at a baby, kitten, puppy. Look at beautiful scenarios they can put us in a peaceful state. That's why I choose to paint vibrant flowers, I want to be surrounded by beautiful things that my eyes can have the pleasure to look at. When we choose to make a conscious decision to live a better life, we will start doing just that. Start to laugh more, smile more, enjoy the life you were meant to enjoy.

I choose to live a loving, peaceful, happy, joyful life. What about you?