Peace (be with you)

Life can be both scary and beautiful. What scares us most are the question marks. How long will this last? Will things get better or worse? We hope that answers will bring us relief. The truth? Life offers no certainty – and never has. For most of us, mental peace depends on finding solutions to problems we’ve imagined or answers we’ve been promised.

Today, half our country feels at peace, while others awake in great turmoil. This contrast highlights how much our mental framing affects our experience. The issues we face as a country remain real and present, but for some, the mental puzzles we craft from these issues seem solved, while for others, they seem only compounded.

I often think of John Lennon’s line: “There are no problems, only solutions.” It’s a phrase that has puzzled me since I first heard it, proving its point – most problems are mental.

Issues, whether large or small, will always arise. That’s the nature of life. This week, my uncle passed, our van broke down, and my daughter dinged someone’s car at school. Tackling these issues takes energy. But letting my imagination turn them into problems that rob me of joy and drain my energy? That’s a choice.

My hope for all of us is continued strength to address the challenges we face – individually and collectively – the discernment to know the difference between issues and problems, the courage to stay present, and the wisdom to find joy.