How to be at peace when in the midst of choas

One of the rules for personal observation, is called, “Santosa”, which means modesty; contentment with what we have or in other words, to be at peace with oneself.  In order to be at peace, one has to accept oneself, flaws and all. However, true peace, is when one can be calm and still in the midst of a heavy hardship or challenge in one’s life -- even when they are surrounded by others who are suffering and/or others who are running and screaming, “Chaos! Chaos Chaos!” all over the place (at least, it can sometimes feel that way at times) – and still come out on the other side and say, “It’ll turn out just fine.” With a smile on their  face . Peace comes from within. We cannot be given peace, only WE can find and create that solitude and comfort within ourselves.

In relation to Santosa, here is a story that might give you, the reader, a better grasp on the idea: There once was a man whose son was in the army. This man one day got a very terrible feeling and did not want his son to get killed. Instead of the father focusing on what he didn’t want (his son getting killed), he focused on his son’s future, health, and well-being and this made him feel good. Then, one day his son fell off his horse and broke his leg. People began to say to the father, “Oh no! You’re son fell off his horse and broke his leg!” “You’re son broke his leg! This is so terrible!” “You’re son’s leg is broken! Oh, how devastating and sad that is!”. The father would always reply, “You know, I think it’s a good thing. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t know why, but I think this is a very good thing.”. The next day, all the soldiers were called to war and the son did not get called because his leg was broken. Even though the event of the son falling off his horse and breaking his leg, seemed to be a bad negative event in the moment,  it turned out to be a rather good thing in the long run and probably saved his life. In this story, the father remained calm and at peace, even when everyone around him seemed to be scared and in chaos about his son’s leg getting broken. This is an example of Santosa being at peace with oneself and life no matter the circumstances.

Santosa both is an attitude that we choose to have and or create within ourselves and it effects our actions. If the father in the story was not in Santosa, then he probably would have reacted like everyone else, scared and chaotic. Santosa ( the knowing that everything will be okay and that everything is a process), effects the mind and therefore our actions.