In Search of Peace

It's true that searching for peace is one of the most difficult things to do today. Either we're so busy with work and improving the standard and quality of our life or the society we live in is so full of political or economic stress that we can hardly find any peace at home. Even the family at times fails to give us the peace and tranquility that we all longed for and instead gives us the stress and stress that make us miserable.

And so we try to find the peace and tranquility that we so much desire in several ways. Some of us who are so rich will find a remote place to build a palatial home where the hustle and bustle of urban life will not disturb us. Or else we just find a place away from home and often in the remote countryside to hide away at times from the pressure of life in our very competitive society. Some chose to become weird ascetics, living in secret places where the craziness of modern living could not bother them.

For many, the easiest escape from the pressure of life is to go on vacation in an exotic country with enchanting sceneries and lovely people which the tourist magazines or leaflets describe as a paradise on earth. The Pacific islands are a favourite spot although we now have lavish and grandiose holiday resorts in countries like Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Qatar and many of the less developed countries. Of course, they are mostly for the very rich and wealthy where hotel charges for one night might go up to US20 to 30k. Even the less expensive places can burn a hole in the pocket of the middle-income people.

For the average income earner, there are of course many holiday packages available today in the tourism-conscious world.
Just book a package and the sole family can visit a distant country as tourists for a few days with everything arranged by the organisers. Some people are perpetually booked on such holiday packages since it's the easiest way to find peace and relaxation from the stress of earning a living and serving bosses who try to squeeze every ounce of energy from you.

But the astounding and depressing thing about taking holidays and vacation in search of peace and tranquility is that: you feel awfully tired and spent after the vacation. You sometimes feel that you need another vacation. Those who had run away to secret hiding places to find the peace will come back feeling more exhausted and strained. The more so when you're living in a trouble-infested country with political instability and economic crisis. You can't be running away all the time to find the peace and tranquility that you want. And where can you run to if you must work for a living?

Where indeed can we find peace and tranquility in today's world of politics, business dealings, competition even among friends, crimes, cheats etc. I asked a friend and his answer was simple. You can only find the peace and tranquility you want in prayers, when you prostrate yourself before God and seek His help and blessing.
It's only in prayers that you can free yourself from the material world, the world of political conflicts and struggles, economic crisis, relentless competition even among friends, crimes, cheats, double-cross, etc. It's the only time when you're alone with God, to repent, seek His protection and blessings, and appreciate what He has bestowed on you all these while.

It's that appreciation plus the humble seeking of further protection and blessings from Him which will give you the peace that you so much desire in life and which no vacation or holidays can give you.