Cultivating peace is a lifelong practice. It is not learning to ride a bike — it does not stay with us regardless of how we live our lives. It is not something we achieve or attain.
Rather, it is something we continuously cultivate, much like how we cultivate restfulness by sleeping every night. If we fail to sleep, we will become weary, no matter how “good” we are at sleeping, no matter how much we’ve slept throughout our lives. Likewise, if we fail to practice and consciously cultivate peace, we will eventually become agitated and stressed.
We live in an ever-changing, ever-moving world. The winds of change constantly blowing through life bring inspiration, and they also bring disruption. It has always been this way.
But it is true now more than ever. Our world is more overwhelming, more disruptive than ever. We have access to news and opportunities from around the world, all right at our fingertips at any moment. The world is facing unprecedented, urgent challenges that may be our demise. We are all constantly pressured to do and be more. And we are constantly bombarded by a dizzying cocktail of substances and entertainment that distract and drain us.
Peace requires active, daily tending, not because we are broken but because the world we live in is relentlessly trying to disrupt us, relentlessly beckoning us to want and do more.
The practice of cultivating peace has been a focus of spiritual and contemplative traditions for millennia. Buddhism, Stoicism, Taoism, Islamic mysticism, contemplative Christianity, Indigenous practices from every continent — entire traditions have devoted themselves to this question. Countless pages have been written. Countless hours spent. There are myriad ways to practice from every corner of the globe and every era of humanity.
This book cannot capture the depth and nuance of those traditions and doesn’t try to. But it can offer a few simple entry points.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book The Antihero’s Journey: From Burnout to Real Contribution in Polycrisis Times. To read other excerpts, go here.
