Hi, this is Monique Rhodes. Welcome to the In Your Right Mind Podcast, where we're learning how to be happier by working with our minds.
If you'd like to know more about what I teach, come to iintendtobehappy.com. I’d love to help you learn the tools that transformed my own life—so you can transform yours too.
The Question I Hear So Often
One of my students recently emailed me with a question I’ve been hearing a lot:
“Why do I feel so shaken all the time?”
She wrote about how heavy the world feels right now.
How chaotic her personal life has become.
How even the smallest things throw her off balance.
She’s trying to stay positive. Trying to be calm.
But no matter how hard she tries, life keeps shaking her.
And she asked me:
“Is peace even possible when the world feels so unstable?”
The Misunderstanding of Peace
Peace is one of the most sought-after feelings.
But also one of the most misunderstood.
We often imagine peace as:
- Stillness
- Silence
- The absence of conflict or stress
As if we could somehow freeze our lives into perfect calm.
But that’s not real peace.
That’s just fragility in disguise.
Real Peace Isn’t Conditional
Yes, there are conditions that can make peace easier—like living in a supportive environment, or surrounding yourself with the right people.
But when peace depends on circumstances?
It’s not true peace.
Because that kind of peace crumbles the moment something goes wrong.
Real Peace Has a Different Foundation
Real peace doesn’t come from control.
It comes from openness.
It’s the strength to say:
- “Whatever comes, I won’t shut down.”
- “I won’t harden.”
- “I won’t flee from my own humanity.”
Real peace doesn’t deny difficulty.
It includes it.
Peace Is an Active Practice
True peace isn’t passive.
It’s not hoping everything stays calm.
It’s choosing to stay open when life gets hard.
It’s the radical act of being with what is.
Of leaning into discomfort instead of fearing it.
Peace as a Path, Not a Destination
We keep waiting for a peaceful life so we can finally relax.
But peace isn’t something we find when everything goes quiet.
It’s something we practice—especially when things get loud.
When we stop reacting to discomfort as if it's danger…
When we stop demanding that the world meet our expectations…
That’s when peace begins.
Expanding Inner Space
Peace isn’t about building a bubble where nothing can touch you.
It’s about expanding your inner space so that:
- No matter what touches you,
- You remain grounded.
- You remain open.
- You remain whole.
It doesn’t mean you won’t grieve, or feel anger, or fear.
It means you allow all of it—without turning away.
The Heart of Peace
True peace rises when we stop resisting what is.
When we stop fighting life and start allowing it.
That’s the word I’m holding for this year: allow.
Let life pass through you.
And then respond—not from panic, but from presence.
What We Practice
We’re not here to practice perfection.
We’re here to practice presence.
We’re not here to practice control.
We’re here to practice courage.
We’re not here to shut down.
We’re here to open up.
And when we do that—when we allow—peace takes root in a way that holds steady, even in the middle of the storm.
Not because life is easy.
But because we’ve become strong enough to hold all of it.
So ask yourself today:
How can I be open to life?
How can I allow it to move through me without closing my heart?
I hope this has been helpful.
As always, be kind.
Take care.
Go gently in the world.
