“No retreat offers someone more quiet and relaxation than that into his own mind…..So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself”
Marcus Aurelius in Meditations
I used to believe that getting out of my daily routines and visiting new places will help my mind find its peace.
It does indeed open up my eyes to differences that this world has to offer, new people with each of their mindsets, utterly different weather conditions, unpleasant yet exciting foods and drinks. But what it does not provide is an escape.
I used to think that by physically getting away from your current condition and location everything would always turn out better than what you already have, get out of your comfort zone they said. But what if you don’t feel comfortable or peaceful in the first place? Does challenging yourself into a new condition to find the aforementioned “comfort zone” might work? It does not, I argue.
What I didn’t realize is that we cannot escape from what resides inside our heads. Wherever we go, no matter how far, our fear, boredom, anxiety may still haunt us.
To find peace, I discovered, is to let ourselves retreat to our own minds. Let our mind think and answer questions that we ask it. Let it wander into its own world without keeping too much attention to what’s happening in the outside world. Let it rest. Let it find its shelter.
Prahesa K Setia 