Peace Versus Suffering

"To hear God’s Voice, all you need do is ask,
“Do I want Peace or do I want suffering?”
If your answer is Peace, you have already heard God’s Voice within you."
- The Voice for Love, 05.06.09

With the busyness and priorities of the day piling up, yesterday I lost my peace. I noticed it slowly creeping in when it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I’d only just completed the first necessity of the day. Then, spending 1½ hours on a tech writing task that should have taken only 5 minutes, my meltdown was getting evident. Only I chose to ignore it, further eroding my peace.

By the time I ate my evening meal, stressed about what was left that I “had to” do and upset that I’d not had time to myself, I was definitely in ‘not a happy camper’ mode. Finally, after looking forward to packing up my office (“one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”) and not having the patience for that, I called the day over.

Sure, I did pray somewhat throughout the storm. But what I really needed to do was to take care of myself and that would’ve been taking time out and sitting quietly in The Silence, where God dwells, away from my ego. For it was my ego that wanted me to stay in suffering, and its voice had managed to overshadow God’s for a time.

I must be ever vigilant and willing to take action when I start feeling ‘off the beam’. The sooner I ask myself “Do I want Peace or do I want suffering?” the better. I can catch the ego in its mischievousness, choose peace, and reunite with God.