long have i searched for peace

when young, looking at a world in turmoil,
i believed politics and working for social change
would be the answer to lasting peace

discouraged and disheartened
i looked for peace in far off places, maybe
peace lived on an island or mountain top?

then i tried finding peace in religion, in
traditions, in holy words, in secret, sacred knowledge

still peace remained illusive
i wondered: would peace come with a soulmate,
in a deep relationship?

no object, no level of comfort,
no insurance policy would free the mind
from worry and discontent

maybe peace would come with
a dedicated spiritual practice?

or maybe if i finally acted in ways
that were socially acceptable
peace would be with me…

phew!
long years of searching
far and wide, mostly outward bound

slowly mind turned inward
and began looking for peace within

where it found a wonderland
of inner processes

meeting constant change in
strong and stormy emotions,
tides of desires,
shapeshifting, fragmented thoughts,
and presumed certainties

mind observed
that the core of unease and striving
was within itself!

simultaneously reemerged,
without any striving,
a wordless knowing
of ever-present peace