Peace of mind is now available! For 149 kr [$18.57 CAD], the promise of serenity and contentment can be all yours. Taxes not included, of course…
Hardly surprising. These are times of ubiquitous commodification. Need to speak with a therapist? Order a pizza? Find an apartment? Learn a language? Fall in love? There’s an app for that. Virtually every want/need/wish is at your fingertips…for a price.
A lifetime candle aficionado, I’m a bit miffed by the notion of tranquility as a marketing tactic. Seems a wee bit lazy. Of course, wax and flame are meant to set a mood and relax the vibe. But the sort of calm advertised in this photo is elusive. Experiencing true comfort in one’s life and skin is a pilgrim’s journey.
What does it mean to be @peace? Is it reckoning with the distance between dreams and realities? Finding moments of joy in daily cadences? Greeting our existence with a sense of gratitude and hope? On my best days, any one of those would check the proverbial box. But most of the time, I feel fulfilled if my overactive mind is sufficiently mollified and I'm managing to crank out a modicum of decent work…
Equanimity isn’t for amateurs. It requires thoughtful, diligent cultivation. Getting good at feeling OK - about who we are and why we’ve been plunked down on this planet - is outrageously hard! A decent starting point is acknowledging that all humans are fallible. We are alternately the WOAT, GOAT and all animal/mineral elements between. Our choice - and it is one - is how to show up each day.
With age comes a tenuous reckoning: we’re becoming older/wiser/circumspect, yet still unable to exert control over the future. Shouldn’t experience bestow sovereignty…at least over one’s personal dominion? Sigh…doesn’t work that way. At 50-esque, my surety is in friends, family, faith. And acknowledging that circumstances generally unfold quite differently than I’ve planned or imagined.
So - even if peace of mind was in the proverbial clearance aisle, I’d take a hard pass. Contentment is earned, not won or bought. It sits quietly alongside those who choose optimism over despair; generosity rather than greed; compassion in times of crisis. In a sense, it is happy’s distant cousin: appreciating life’s complexity rather than smiling blithely.
By all means, seek comfort in your skin, your work, identity, and values. Take a walk. Light candles! Hell, buy the decadent chocolate if you are so inclined. Just don’t expect to put peace of mind in your cart, checkout and find bliss.
That journey, dear friends, is why we exist. Travel with curiosity and conviction. Thankfulness, too. Seek a fulfillment that money can’t buy.