There are a few guarantees in life. One is that you will encounter obstacles as you navigate this leaden labyrinth called life. Another is that you are going to die.

That said, I am of reasonable certainty that the loftiest goal for any human being is to attain a state of “peace of mind” given these two guarantees.

Ponder on that for a second.

Who doesn’t want “peace of mind” while facing difficulties in life? Who doesn’t desire “peace of mind” while facing the jaws of death?

The metaphysical state of “peace of mind” has different names across different cultures and religions.

In Buddhism, it is called Passadhi. The Hindi call it Mauna. The closest equivalence in Islam is Sakinah. Judaism incorporates it in their salutations as “Shalom Aleichem”, meaning “peace be upon you”.

In Christianity, the term is “peace of God”. (Philippians 4: 7)

The secular world equates “peace of mind” to “securing the bag”, or having enough money to make all your problems disappear. Here, allow me to hastily refute this fallacy by evoking all those moguls who failed to buy “peace of mind” against COVID-19.

I will not even offer any more space to that decadent discourse in this piece. The late great philosopher, The Notorious B.I.G., already settled this debate in “Mo Money Mo Problems”. 

The best way to maintain serenity in the face of challenges, victory, lack and abundance is by embracing the duality of reality.

EMBRACING THE DICHOTOMY OF EXISTENCE…

The first step in attaining “peace of mind” is acknowledging that existence is binary.

The ancient Chinese philosophical concept of Yin-Yang is perhaps the most popularised version. A comparable Western philosophy is Heraclitus’ “unity of opposites”. The Christian equivalent of ‘Kingdom of Darkness versus Kingdom of Light’ is a less widely acknowledged but the most accurate of these philosophical doctrines.

Nevertheless, it is easy to accept that life is an ever-evolving process of making choices.

“Peace of Mind” arises from engaging in the conscious effort of always picking the least destructive option at every turn. The best way to know which option is least ruinous is by downloading and activating a subconscious moral and practical blueprint or basic code.

Atheists use “logic”. Theists use “faith”. Please allow me to add that the nature of faith is anathema to logic. In other words, it is a futile exercise to “intellectualise God”.

To be more precise, the blueprint that one employs in making the continual choices of life depends on the belief system one subscribes to.

The blueprint is “the principles of Science”, “common sense”, or “reason” for the atheist.

The template is Islam (remember, Islam is not just a religion but a way of life) and the Qu’ran for the Muslim.

For Christians, the basic code is the Word of God or the Holy Bible.

Every individual has an “Operating System” (just like a computer) that determines whether they choose a 0 (no) or 1 (yes) for every decision they face in life. Identifying your OS, embedding it into your subconscious mind and reflexively practising it at every turn is how one can attain that much-desired transcendental state of absolute tranquillity called PEACE OF MIND.

Alternatively, you can artlessly move with the wind and wait for the choices to choose you.

….OR SIMPLY NOT CARING

Some people have a gift of not giving a hoot. They never care about anything or anyone. These people seem not to have any OS at all.

Here, I am not referring to the stoics or the psychopaths. I am alluding to those who fall somewhere in between the two extremes. They get their “peace of mind” from complete detachment from their inner self and surroundings.

My postulation is this perceived “peace of mind” is contrived and fallacious. I think these people are just empty or lost. No machine can operate without a basic code.

A PROPOSAL

I propose we combine the two: embracing the duality of reality while also detaching from reality. Counterintuitive, I know. But that is how Christians attain that transcendental state of “peace of mind” through thick and thin that most people find annoying.

We have all encountered the ever-smiling Christian even when insulted, dirt poor or sick (even on the brink of death).

People hate those “goody-goodies”!

Loathing them does not absolve the irritating fact that the real ones have cracked the code at attaining “peace of mind”. 

Find one and ask them how they do it. You might also accomplish that lofty goal of attaining PEACE OF MIND.