Peace / Anxiety Seesaw

we can think of peace and anxiety as the opposite ends of a seesaw.  since human psychology is negatively biased, the pivot or balance point is weighted in favour of the anxiety.

we can then rate our current degree of peace or anxiety from 0-10 stones.  why stones?  why not?  let’s say our current peace is five stones, and currently our anxiety is also five stones.  sorry to say our peace is heavily favoured to being anxious.  while they both have the same weight, the fact that the seesaw is weighted in favour of anxiety is worth two or three times the same stone on the peace side.

enough of the physics lesson.  not only do we need to develop more peace, but we also need to be able to remove or counteract the negative bias we all hold.  since the negative bias is genetic in nature, removal is not possible, but our actions can counter it.  if, like me, you learned about seesaw physics as a child playing on the seesaws, you will remember that all you have to do is move your position on the seesaw to gain the advantage over a heavy person or maybe two people on the other end.

so it is with this exercise.  we need to adjust how we think.  if we do it correctly, we will reposition ourselves in relation to our anxiety, break free, and find tranquillity.

Five Peace Circles

we live our lives within circles.  between each circle, there are boundaries.  the borders can be free, allowing open transmission of people, goods, and services.  or they can walled off in the hope of stopping intrusion by unwanted people, ideas, and stresses.

think of the circles as being locations in the world.  the inner circle is you.  then your immediate household.  the house is typically in a city or other local area.  the city or town is in a province or state, which in turn is located in a country.  then finally, the country belongs to the world.

like each of the geo-political areas above the movement of people, goods and services are enforced by pacts, treaties, laws, and

Inner Peace [Self-Interest]

self-interest is not an unreasonable interest.  to be specific, it is the only interest we can truly attain.  this is not an egotistical or selfish desire.  many say you cannot look after others without looking after yourself first.

achieving peace is only possible if we seek our self-interest.  inner peace and self-interest are the same circle.

in all things, be gentle with yourself.