There is a struggle inside everyone and it’s not between good and evil. It’s between what is and what you want, or said another way, between how it is and how you think it should be.
Many years ago, I heard that the key to happiness was to want what is. At the time, I thought that meant I had to accept the way things were and deal with it as best I could. That led me down a path of trying to fix myself and my circumstances. This did not lead to peace. In fact, it led to more struggle and seeking.
It looks different to me now. Wanting what is, is not about accepting. Acceptance is an act of thinking. It’s like putting frosting on dog food. It might look pretty but you still don’t want to eat it. If not acceptance, then what? The absence of resistance.
Think about it. Whatever you don’t want is already here. Resisting it is a waste of energy and effort. Stop for a moment and consider, what does the absence of resistance conjure up for you? When I first heard that phrase I had a lot of thoughts about it. Oh, you mean give up, succumb, be a doormat, etc.
All those thoughts were more resistance.
The absence of resistance is a neutral space of awareness. Think of it like how the space in a room is to the objects in it. It’s what’s present before we add thinking. Before our personality, preferences, and intellect weigh in. The absence of resistance is the space of peace. There is no conflict or anything to defend because there is no shoulds or shouldn’ts. There is only what is.
You have probably heard the phrase, “Peace begins with me.” I think it’s more accurate to say, “Peace begins in the absence of me.” When my thought-created identity (ego) is absent, all there is, is peace. Seeing this is the most freeing experience. There is no fixing or improving required to experience peace only letting go of one’s preoccupation with the story of ourselves.
