Why Has Peacefulness Become Such a Challenge?

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Some of the links below are affiliate links meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you purchase something using the link. Read the full disclaimer policy here.

Originally posted on December 4, 2021. Reposted on December 4, 2023.

In modern times, we talk of peace… we share social media memes that speak of a kinder, gentler, more accepting, and forgiving world.

We ask people to be kinder, send hugs, show understanding, offer a gesture of peace. At Christmas time, the old WWII story of German and Allied troops surfaces year after year. That history-making peaceful moment when two opposing sides set aside their differences and sang Christmas carols in unity.

You may wonder why there is so much talk of peace, and yet it’s become such a challenge to discover peace in our day-to-day lives.

We All Want It: Peace

Peace is something that most people crave — even if we don’t think or do much about it. Each day, we head out into the world — or sit behind our computers — to conduct our daily business. We battle traffic, scramble to get our tasks completed, wrestle with our computers. Or we sit on hold with customer service and field messages on our smartphones from morning until night. We shuttle kids from school to home and back again. And through all of this busyness, somewhere in the back of our cluttered minds, we hope that in our travels we will encounter at least one or two kind souls that we may exchange a meaningful sign of peace.

Are We Overconnected?

Peacefulness can seem like a challenge in today’s world, mainly because of an increased sense of always being busy, and pulled in a million different directions by a million different things.

The internet-connected planet definitely has its plus-side… of being able to seek out and follow a whim at every turn. You can get yourself into just about anything, with the internet on your side. Look someone up, follow a new craze, act on a shopping impulse, learn something new, commit yourself to umpteen projects and causes.

But what does this have to do with peace, you wonder? The converse of that constant busyness and distractedness is never giving yourself needed rest – the freedom of tuning it all out and powering it down for an undefined amount of time.

The Beauty and Struggle of Smartphones

Does the constant presence of smartphones detract from our sense of peace? How so?

People who grew up without the ever-presence of smartphones may remember that blissful sense of being able to tune out and shut everything and everyone out for as long as one might need.

Imagine that… slipping away to rest and recharge, with no sense of the eternally ticking clock, counting down the minutes until someone or something demands your attention.

It was easier then to be “off the clock” or “unreachable”. Not so much now…

Too Social Media

Another possible reason why peacefulness seems to evade us… social media. There is just something about being logged on, spotting something controversial, or reading a polarizing statement that wakes up your inner fighter. In the same way that we feel anonymous and powerful while driving on the highway, protected by the windshield and metal frame of our cars… somehow we also get the compulsion to take out our aggressions on others while hiding behind our social media profiles.

In Conclusion

None of the above is peaceful, but yet it’s all perfectly manageable in our daily lives. And in limiting the amount of time we spend running around like rats in a maze, or having exhausting social media conversations… we can actually begin to know again that peaceful feeling that evades us.

How do you get away from all the social media noise? Tell us in the comments!

Loving Life — The Reboot!

Dominique

This article provides general information and discussion about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this article, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.