Some parents find peace at the end of their child’s recital, or performance, or perhaps, on a lazy Sunday morning when the kids and the dog all slumber on the bed together with Mom and Dad — quiet, relaxed, happy.
Students may find peace — albeit brief — after composing an essay or completing a final exam.
Athletes have regular opportunities to find peace. Peace, like many things, is fleeting. But there is a moment — and every athlete knows this moment — when you’ve turned in a good session, one where you pushed through the uncertainty and the discomfort, the doubt and the discord, and you’ve reached your goal. There’s that moment, when you’re sitting in your truck after a hard swim session, when you’re standing in your driveway after a tough run, or when you’re slumped over the top tube of your bike after a positively brutal ride.
That moment — when you stop moving — and when your brain is no longer urging your body forward — that is a peaceful moment. Everything, in that moment, is right. There are no bills to pay, no errands to run, no complaints to address.
I meet people who seem to believe they’ll find peace once they travel. Or they’ll find it when they retire. Or when their kids go off to college. Or when they get that promotion. Or when they get a new car or a bigger house.
Don’t wait to find peace. Create daily opportunities to swim in it. To bathe in it. To enjoy it, however brief it may be.
