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There are many ways of obtaining calmness, but at the top of
the list we must put the love of calmness and the conviction
about its importance.
1.
Love of Calmness
You cannot live in peace unless you are convinced that it is the
right way to live. This is because your conviction
unquestionably affects your behaviour. You must then be
convinced that settling affairs or solving problems is not
achieved by force, worry, by getting upset or by fear or despair.
On the contrary, only the calm person can think in a balanced
way and solve his problems and behave well. Once he loses his
calmness, he becomes disturbed and cannot find a solution.
There are some people to whom distressing news or events
brings on ill health, for example, such problems as diabetes, high
blood pressure, stomach ulcers or nervous damage, which
causes them to need psychiatrists and general practitioners.
Their lack of tranquillity may last a long time during which they
become the object of people's pity! Besides harming themselves
those who are restless can harm others too.
If you are convinced, then, of the harmful effects of a lack of
calmness, try always to be calm, and follow the ways which will
lead you to peace. Know that the thoughts of the person who
thinks calmly are sound and strong and will enable him to
understand, draw conclusions, grasp a subject and solve his
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problems. The tranquil heart gives peaceful solutions and does
not cause problems.
2. The Calmness of Nature
Nature, being calm, conveys its calmness to the spirit, and the
calmness of nature aids the calmness of the individual's
character. It is on account of this that people go to parks and
gardens, where beautiful natural scenes soothe their nerves. If
they are not able to do this regularly, as a matter of course, at
least they can do it on holidays from work. Some people can
travel to a rural areas with beautiful scenery. Many people, at
the very least, like to put flowers in their homes in special
containers or decorate the walls of their homes with some
peaceful natural scenes.
Some people choose their homes in quiet areas and live in the
less crowded suburbs where there is not so much in the way of
machines, vehicles, noise of traffic and noise of factories, shops
and such like to disturb the peace. As we have mentioned
above, some suburbs insist that building should not be carried
out over the whole area, and restrict the height of dwellings so
that around each house there can be a garden with trees and
flowers, to give the place beauty and so each person can enjoy a
sufficient amount of fresh air and beautiful natural views which
bring calmness to the soul. If there is no overcrowding, noise is
decreased and this is another factor that aids tranquillity.
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Those who are unable to live in more peaceful surroundings are
advised at least to take breaks from
their environment, in search of calmness for their nerves.
I read once during the war, that Eisenhower, when he was
president of America, went to spend a holiday at one of the
lakes where they took a photograph of him fishing. He was
relaxing despite his massive responsibilities, for he knew well
that calmness of the nerves would help him to be relaxed in
bearing his responsibilities, and would give vitality to his
thoughts and tranquillity to his soul.
We recall that Our Lord Jesus used to take his disciples to
secluded places. Sometimes he would take them to fields and
orchards, sometimes he would talk to them on the hills or at the
seashore. The miracle of the five loaves and two fish took place
in a secluded spot. I wish someone would study the subject of
nature and Jesus' relationship with it.
The Monasteries
The Desert Fathers have always lived in the peace of the desert,
and thus have lived peacefully, without any external factors to
arouse or disturb them. Therefore their dispositions have
always been tranquil and they have had the serenity of thought
and heart to be able to contemplate deeply on how to deal with
situations. Thus they have been able to give calm advice to
anyone who has sought their guidance. They have put this
monastic principle before themselves: "With stillness of the
body we acquire tranquillity of the soul".
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A monk who did not find sufficient peace in the monastic order
used to resort to a life of solitude in a cave or hill dwelling
where he lives with tranquil senses and calm emotions. That is
why some Fathers call the monastic life, 'the life of silence'. The
Fathers have always preferred the calm of the night to the bustle
of the day. Their prayers in the quietness of the night can be
deeper and more contemplative than they are in the glare of the
day. Saint Isaac the Syrian said, "Night is set aside for the act
of prayer", and the writer of the Psalms says: "Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house
of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the
Lord." (Ps. 134) I remember that I wrote in my diary one night
in my cave in the mountains (perhaps it was in 1960), the
following couple of lines:
"The peace of the night is music and secrets whispering to me,
the sound of the wind gently pouring the melody into my ear".
Unfortunately some cities have spoilt the calm of the night and
instead have made the night a time of noisy parties and
nightclubs with all their entertainment, and in so doing they
have removed night time far away from peace and from God.
Therefore, for the sake of creating peace, the monasteries have
set up retreat houses. The intention is that young people can
spend a quiet period there for meditation and prayer, far from
the noise of the city and far from the stimulations which make
the soul rise and fall. During this period they can recharge their
inner calmness which will revitalise their spiritual strength and
fortify their hearts.
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It is important for those who go to the monasteries for the
purpose of finding tranquillity should not cause the monasteries
to lose their peacefulness. The visit is not simply for a change
of atmosphere or to receive a blessing from the holy places, but
rather for the spiritual benefit which it can bring, and for
spending time in prayer reading, meditation and examining the
soul. It is better if one goes alone, and not with a group of
people to spend time discussing and chatting with them!!
The visitor to the monastery will benefit from following a
spiritual programme and therefore not disturb the peacefulness
of the monastery.
3. Tranquillity of The Heart
The wide-open heart can accept many things, without getting
annoyed at them.
The tranquil heart produces calm thoughts and also calm
emotions. It never thinks of the difficulties of the problem but
only how to solve them. Someone who is overwhelmed by his
pains becomes exhausted by them, but someone who thinks of
how to solve his problems, works his way out of his pain and
relaxes as soon as he reaches a solution. If he does not find a
way out of his difficulty, then he leaves it to God, trusting that
God has many solutions. With faith, the heart grows calm,
trusting in the work of God.
The important matter is not the problem but the way in which
you deal with it and your response to the problem. What
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matters is how much you let yourself become upset by the
problem and the kind of effect it has upon you. Is it affecting
you deeply and troubling you or is it floating on the surface of
your thoughts without you allowing it to trouble or pre-occupy
you? What is your reaction to the problem and your inner
response?
The tranquil soul faces things calmly, no matter how
complicated they are. If we get disturbed, then everything in
front of us gets disturbed. And if we are calm then everything
in our view appears calm. So the type of interaction between
ourselves and the problem is the basis of our feelings. The
restless soul is always pessimistic and expects the worst, but the
calm person receives the most difficult news with composure
and deals with the matter calmly, because he is used to behaving
this way.
If you are secure within, you will be fortified against any
disturbance, like a person who is immunised against a specific
virus. Even if the germ enters the body, it will not harm the
person. You will be like this. As long as you live in the world
you cannot escape problems, so the practical solution is to train
yourself to rise above the provocation that they can cause.
You will come to realise fully that getting upset does not solve
problems, but that they are solved by calm, balanced thought
which arrives at practical, and feasible solutions.
We want tranquillity of the heart in order that we obtain
outward calmness in dealing with practical matters and in our
daily behaviour. All kinds of outer peace which we can practise
or benefit from will contribute to our inner peace.
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4. Don't Be Easily Provoked
Accept everything calmly, no matter how troublesome it is. Do
not let external causes arouse you on the inside. Don't be easily
incited and don't be volatile or easily manipulated. Be calm and
train yourself for internal peace and tranquillity of heart.
There is a kind of person who, if you tell him some news, shows
signs of panic in his features; his eyes, his expression, his voice,
so much so that you say to him, "Don't worry, nothing's
happened..." or you leave the conversation unfinished.
But you must not be like this, for Our Lord Jesus said: "Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27).
Do not be easily affected, and if you do become upset, put a
limit to it and try to calm yourself. If you throw a stone at a
mountain you will not shake it, nor will it be affected by the
stone. But if you throw the same stone at a pane of glass, the
glass will be smashed and shattered into pieces. Be like the
mountain, not like the glass. I want you to be strong, resilient
mountains, not easily shaken, in fact completely unshakeable.
A lit match set against some straw quickly sets it on fire, while a
flame placed in water does not burn but is extinguished. Which
of these are you like?
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5. Faith
In the midst of problems a person can be calm by means of
faith; as long as he believes that God exists, that He upholds,
directs and protects and that He also judges the wrong doers
(Ps. 146:7). If he believes that God will certainly intervene with
love and create a solution for him, or intervene with his justice
and raise the oppression from him. If he puts before him the
words of the Lord: "I will not leave you nor forsake you."(Josh. 1:5).
He leaves everything to God and is neither afraid nor troubled,
trusting in God's actions on his behalf.
Those who believe in the action of God and His protection
never get upset. Their reliance on God gives them inner peace.
In fact, their faith makes them see good in everything; even
what appears to be distressing or troublesome, they believe that
God will certainly change it to good. In their trust in God they
live a life of total submission and inner peace.
The meaning of faith is not that the person adopts a passive
stance. On the contrary, he does all that he can, without getting
upset, putting the matter in God's hands right from the start and
putting before himself the words of the Bible: "The things which
are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27)
As long as God sees everything and wants the best for
everyone, and is able to bring this about, why lose one's calm?!
If someone loses his tranquillity of heart as a result of problems,
there must be a flaw in his heart that needs to be
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treated. This flaw might be a lack of faith that has given rise to
doubt, then fear and then confusion. This is until he enters into
the element of faith - faith in strong prayer and its effectiveness.
Prayer, to whomever believes in it, cures fear and disturbance.
With prayer you feel that you are not alone, you are surrounded
with divine power helping you, therefore you become calm and
feel secure.