What does it mean to have peace in your life? Peace is freedom from family, strangers, peers and everyone. Peace is compassion for others. When you are getting ready in the morning with your children and husband, is it a peaceful situation? Well, do you wish to be single again some mornings? I do. 

When we were single, we had more time. More time means peace to me. More time to think, and get ready for the day without having to repeat to me to ‘brush your teeth’, ‘ have breakfast’, ‘stop wasting time’, ‘get in the car now’, ‘omg I have a blooming meeting at 9 o’clock and you are all going to make me late!”. Does that sound like some mornings in your house? Admit it, when you were single, there was more peace in your life, not having to cater to anyone else or be responsible for another human being. Such is life!

When you have another adult in your house who does not share the load, not there to help with anything, even the smallest of tasks become hard. It is not fair and it is not what we signed up for when we agreed to get married, regardless of the excuses. It is like you have to split yourself in four so you can try and do all things and be everything to everyone. This makes life hard and peace a little harder to have.

Peace can also mean improvement in mental health so our emotions don’t get the better of us. Negative emotions have a way of creeping up on us and can slowly take over if we don’t manage them. Peace is choosing calmness over chaos. It is a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calmness despite the potential presence of stressors. Peace can also mean choosing ourselves and being okay within ourselves despite what is happening on the outside. Calming the war inside of us has a tendency to spill over and affect every part of our beings and those around us.

Having a second car can also mean peace in your house. I remember my dad on Sunday mornings being so frustrated with waiting on five girls to get ready, my mother and the boys. He is a tardy person who doesn’t like to be late to meetings, especially at church. That’s probably why he bought another car for that very reason. After that, he just got ready and whoever was ready after will ride with him. The rest of the slow pokes will go with my mother in her car. That was peace for him which meant everyone else can fall in line. No more long lectures for all of us before and after church. What does outer peace look like in your house? What things do we need to have in place so there is less stress and chaos?

What thoughts do we need to take control so they don’t take over? Who and what do we need to let go from our lives so we don’t have to continue with negative attitudes, unhealthy habits and toxic environment? Some things to think about this week as we head to the middle of June. Being content in our own lives and not coveting what other people have or do is also peace. 

While we enjoy another peaceful Sunday Samoa, remember that peace over chaos makes your soul light, choosing peace over having the last word in an argument is more important in relationships, choosing peace over being right might just save you a lot of heartache and worry in the future. Everyone deserves to have peace in their life, free of fear and anxiety. Be someone’s peace today and not the cause of their pain and suffering. Manuia le Sapati.