Chapter 8: We All Want Peace
CHOOSING PRESENCE PP. 88-91
To redefine peace from being a state free of conflict to recognizing it as a grace received from God.
Summary
This section dives into the difference between the kind of peace the world offers and the deeper peace that comes from God. Worldly peace is usually tied to control—trying to manage situations, people, or outcomes to feel at ease. But God’s peace isn’t about everything going right on the outside—it’s something deeper, something that remains steady no matter what’s happening around you. It’s the kind of peace that comes from being connected to God’s presence, beyond what the mind can fully understand.
We try to manufacture peace through discipline and willpower, by way of our own creation and control… The practice of presence, however, leads us to a different kind of peace, the peace of God, an experience that is often difficult to explain.
— Choosing Presence, p. 88
A Moment for Reflection
Pause for a moment and reflect on the following three questions:
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This question encourages you to examine whether you are striving for peace through external means rather than allowing yourself to experience it through presence.
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This invites you to recognize moments where your pursuit of peace might actually be creating more stress and resistance.
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This helps you connect with your personal experience of authentic peace and explore ways to cultivate it intentionally.
Remember to Download the Free Practicing Presence App!
Start your day with a morning meditation and get hourly reminders to return to presence with three conscious breaths. This free app is an essential tool for deepening your practice and staying connected with God’s presence.
Deepening the Practice: Journal Prompt
We often chase peace by trying to control our circumstances—thinking that if we plan enough, fix enough, or eliminate all sources of stress, we’ll finally feel at ease. But Choosing Presence reminds us that true peace isn’t something we create; it’s something we access. It’s not about making everything perfect on the outside but about learning to connect with a deeper stillness that already exists within us. When we stop striving and allow ourselves to be present, we tap into a peace that is always available, no matter what’s happening around us.
Think about a time when you felt truly at peace. Was it because of external circumstances, or was it something deeper? Now, reflect on areas in your life where you try to force peace through control, planning, or problem-solving. What might shift if, instead of striving, you simply allowed yourself to access the peace that is already present? Write about how you can practice letting go and opening yourself to a deeper, more lasting sense of peace.