Several years ago while working on a project site we had a really bad day. I remember it well… a number of relatively minor mishaps (these were frequent while working in the field, and actually part of the day-to-day challenges that one must be able to take on to thrive in our work environment)… were compounded with tension between a couple of subcontractors on the project site… and, finally, a worker went down, overcome by heat exhaustion… It was a bad day. The next day, one of my co-workers came up to me and mentioned how well he thought I handled the situation. He specifically said, “Chris, amongst all that chaos, I was amazed when I looked at you and saw someone who seemed to be at peace.”

At peace?

I was surprised, because I felt pretty much overwhelmed on that day. He seemed to think I was able to handle the situation well, without reacting negatively… a real compliment.

At peace… but why?

Recently I woke up and started to think about this… I have been at peace for quite some time now and have been trying to put my finger on why… I mentioned this feeling to my girlfriend and that it seems to be related to expectations…

I think finding peace is very much a matter of…

• focus,

and

• surroundings… both people and environment.

On that day in the field I was very focused… though my environment was very turbulent.

Now my world is far from perfect… I think we could all agree to that statement when we look around ourselves… but we all make choices… and, for each of us, these choices are critical to finding peace. If I am focusing my thoughts and vision in the right direction… and managing my surroundings… soon I will reap the benefit of these efforts. I wrote about focus recently… you can read more about that here.

I believe that one of the keys to finding peace has to do with our expectations… of people and events.

What are your expectations of others? Here are mine…

• That they should be real.

Well, that’s it.

Real… sounds pretty simple?

Being real just means being myself… yes… it is pretty simple!

In fact, it’s so darn simple we often complicate it…

Why?

Because we can… and a variety of other reasons.

That’s just plain silly.

Real expectations… and acceptance…

being close to like-minded people…

“May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:5-7

WoW, powerful words that go right along with peace… and harmony…

encouragement…

unity…

one heart that glorifies God…

acceptance…

anticipation…

peace.

What changes to your environment do you consider relevant to finding and maintaining peace?