On Peace
by Rev. Rebecca Fletcher, MDiv, BCC, MINT
When was the last time you felt truly at peace?
I don’t know about you, but I had to think pretty hard about that at first. Even identifying times when I felt somewhat peaceful, I am aware that there was always something just at the edge of that feeling, some upcoming task for work or personal issue or unfolding world event that tugged at my consciousness and stole my attention away from whatever peace I had been experiencing. It is so easy to allow myself to get swept back up into the swirl of uneasiness that robs me of that sense of peace.
During my coaching training I learned about the interplay of one’s head, one’s heart, and one’s gut – in other words, the thinking self, the feeling self, and the intuitive self. On mornings when I want to stay in bed, my thinking self takes charge and reminds me that I have work to do and that I need to get up. At times when I’m feeling like my time is stretched too thin, my feeling self often takes over and tells me that it’s okay to spend some more time with my elderly mother – other responsibilities will wait. And there have been times when my intuitive self has told me not to do something despite the urging of my thinking and/or feeling self, and wow, do I wish I had listened to my gut.
The head, the heart, and the gut each play a crucial role in helping us navigate our day-to-day lives, and it is often the case that one needs to be prioritized. I’ve had the privilege of working with several clients as they listened separately to their heads, their hearts, and their guts and discerned the next right step for them. What strikes me today, though, is that sometimes the head, the heart, and the gut align, and those are times when we experience deep peace.
As I have been thinking more about when I feel at peace, I have been paying more attention to the alignment of my head, heart, and gut. I have been surprised at how often they are in harmony, even if only for a few moments. Watching the sky lighten during my early morning walks, taking the first sip of coffee, holding my newborn grandchild, catching up with my spouse in the evening – all of these are times when I experience that peaceful alignment. And even when those peaceful moments are fleeting, I can still recall them and recapture that peaceful feeling. As this holiday season unfolds, may you also notice the times of alignment between your head, your heart, and your gut, and may you experience peace.
