7 Tips to Inner Peace

One of the things I've learned is how to gain inner peace.  I've never been the most patient person and in fact, I can fly off the handle pretty darn easy...but...I've learned how to overcome so much and have a peace that goes beyond all understanding! 

Most folks say...."Wow..you have 13 kids..you must never have peace!"  Well, actually I have "peace" no matter how noisy or chaotic my life may appear to be ;-) 

I actually find "joy" having all their little boisterous bodies running around.

Anyhoo...No matter where you are in life..whether you are married or single..young or old...you can achieve it!   

For me, it was rather simple and this is how I achieved my daily inner peace:

First - I found I needed to MAKE TIME for prayer.  Without a bit of prayer time in the morning, my day would be sunk.  We now bring the whole family into the morning prayer time.  We say prayers and also do a reading from Proverbs (31 proverbs, 31 days..just sayin') .    

Second:  I found that I needed to avoid folks who gave me great stress.  Toxic folks..um, pray for them...but...limit your time with them!  That may sound horrible..but..it really drained me and I have to be a good wife and mom.  

Third:  Music.  I have found that soothing music sets the mood for me.    To calm myself I find that I love the oldies (Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, etc), Gregorian Chant and Concerto's.  As I blog this, I'm listening to one of my favorites...Bach-Brandenburg Concertos No. 3 in G major

 Just choose what soothes you! :) 

Fourth:  Pick and choose your battles.  Unless the house is on fire or someone is bleeding, I can pretty much remain calm.

Fifth:  Give more, daily!  I found the more I gave, the more peace I had.  It can be time, it can be money...just be a "giver"! ;-)

Sixth:  Read UPLIFTING things.  I'm not asking folks to bury their heads in the sand.  We all know about the fiscal financial cliff and those countries with nukes, etc...  BUT.. we must "balance".  For every negative thing you read...find something positive.  It would be best to avoid all the "upsetting" stuff..but..unfortunately....that's not realistic (or even prudent).

Seventh:  Birds of a feather flock together!  Choose your friends wisely (online or off)!   If they bring you down...you may want to distance yourself a bit.  Distance and prayer work wonders! 

I have been blessed over the past year with some really enriching friendships!  We can talk about kids who refuse to eat anything but pizza, how to get vomit stains off furniture and The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Yeah...totally blessed ;)