Tranquility
“Be not disturbed at trifles; or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
2. Showing no signs of anxiety or agitation
3. A state of peace and calm
Anger blows out the lamp of the mind. In the examination of a great and important question, every one should be serene, slow-pulsed, and calm.- Ingersoll
It is easier to forgive an enemy than a friend.
Good-humor is goodness and wisdom combined - Owen Meredith
“Let your occupations be few”, says the sage, “if you would lead a tranquil life”. By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.- Marcus Aurelius Antonius
My thoughts on tranquility are as follows:
Prepare a quiet place in your mind
Learn how to relax and do it. In practice, this is different for each person. In the media-frenzied world of today it is very hard to step back and take a moment. While we as humans are very adaptable, it is abnormal to need our stimuli changed every “internet minute” in order to stay awake. I recommend the use of an entire day of the week where we concentrate only on using time with our self and our family. Beyond that, it is a great idea to take just a few minutes each day and exercise, meditate, or otherwise spend quiet time ‘alone’ (with God).
Seek the true meaning of events
Believe only half of what you see, a quarter of what you read, and none of what you hear. Remember that you know your motives, and no other but God. Ensure that you have done all that you reasonably can to connect what you’ve observed to reality before drawing conclusions and acting. We each see the world though eyes made of a single life experience. These eyes then peer through the glasses of our current emotions to observe the world. If you would see clearly, open your eyes wide and remove your glasses.
Live in the gap
Steven Covey gets the credit for coining the phrase, but this concept has been a cornerstone of my life since age thirteen. The idea is that between a stimulus and a reaction, there should be a gap. We should each endeavor to recognize this gap and widen it each time we see it. While in the gap we can filter elevated emotion through a filter of reason and we are able to act in accordance with our lasting life’s plan, rather than according to fleeting emotion.
