“‘Seek peacefully, and you will find’
A Kemetic Proverb”

This saying is a good reminder of the best place to begin almost anything - being centered and/or at peace. Sometimes there is so much going on, it’s hard to focus. If we are parents, the children need one thing. If our parents are still with us they need another. Our spouse or partner needs something else, if we have one. If we are single there are other kinds of responsibilities we must care for at home. Then there’s work, community and spiritual life. All important. All involve people we love and care about or things we want or need to do.

What is too often missing is care for our own needs. I'm not talking here about the deep stuff still being worked out from childhood. That's for another day. I'm talking about basic simple needs. For example, did we get enough sleep last night? Seven to eight hours is recommended. Did we have at least two good meals – including fresh fruit, fresh veggies, whole grains and protein? Did we move our body for 20-30 minutes enough to work up a sweat? Have we given and received enough hugs today – even if it meant hugging ourselves? What about a conversation with someone we love who we know loves us? What about a conversation of love and encouragement with ourselves? Very practical matters. Simple. Simple, but not easy!

Because I expect that somebody’s thinking that this just sounds like ‘MORE stuff that needs to be done!’

Yes! More stuff. When we add caring for these simple needs of our own to all the things we’re already doing for others, it may feel overwhelming, or even impossible. But, in the long run, I’ve found that attention to these simple, practical matters actually makes life less complicated and even more fun! Not to mention the health benefits. But it’s not just the body that benefits. It’s also the mind and the soul. I must confess that I struggle to get all the sleep I need every single night. And I am still practicing being as consistent as I want to be with getting in my daily 20 minutes or more of a good sweat. And I definitely need to create new ways to get enough hugs every day. We all have things we need to work on.

I find inspiration to keep trying in the books I read about ancient Kemet. Some describe the requirement that the Pharaoh and Queen, not only had to embody the principles of MAAT and to model spiritual and moral integrity and maturity, they had to model physical strength and health as well. The more responsibility a person had, the more they needed to be whole in mind, body and spirit. What a concept!!! We may not officially be Pharaoh's (yes, there were women who were Pharaohs) or Queens, but who we are and what we are here to give to the world is still important. What if embodying the principles of Truth, Justice, Reciprocity, and the other principles of MAAT were part of the societal criteria today for what it means to be an effective parent or leader or worker? What if part of the community understanding of what it means to excel at whatever we do meant embodying mental, emotional and physical health and wellness? The life-style suggestions above are simple, yet they require time and energy. How do we find the time?

I have found that one simple key to seek and find what is needed with peace - is to just stop and breathe. Breathe and get in touch with our body. Because believe it or not, getting in touch with our bodies gives us a lot of information about what we need to do as far as other people and situations are concerned. Taking a few deep breaths, even for just 3 minutes, can make a huge difference in how we respond to someone or something, what kind of decision we make, or what we do – at home, at work, or at play. Deep, full breathing gets us back to our center, back to a sense of peace and clarity. From this place, as we seek answers and solutions, we can often find some that actually work!

Simple, practical, doable.

Here’s one way to do the breath practice.

Sit with feet on the floor, hip distance apart. Hands relaxed on your lap. Close your eyes. Gently inhale and fill your belly and chest all the way up to your throat, like a balloon. It should feel gentle and easy – no strain. When you’ve taken in all the air you can comfortably take in, gently exhale as chest and belly deflate, like the air going out of your balloon. This is one breath. Focus gently on each breath. Repeat this breathing practice 3 – 7 times to begin, increasing the number of breaths as you have time or need.

Most often, after this simple, practical breath practice it will be clearer what is the next best thing to do. I sometimes even intuit solutions for how to best address my own needs and the plethora of needs of those around me, after this time of seeking and finding peace.

As you dream for others and all the wonderful things you can and will do for them - dream for yourself too!

Try a couple of the things mentioned above this week and share how they work for you in the comments section below!

A Simple Key: Finding Peace in Your Busy Life