The Search for Inner Peace
What does it mean to live a life from a place of calm, peace, and ease? Can that place be found in society, or is it an inside job?
Life's Unfair Lessons
Once during an unfair and challenging time of my life, a wise gentleman soothed my troubled mind by saying, "We were never promised a fair life." Those words struck a chord, and I recognised their truth. I realised then that my character would not be defined by the injustices I had experienced. I chose to learn and develop my character resulting from the blow. I say this so that we can learn lessons from our failures and create real lasting change.
The Journey from Dependence to Independence
From birth, we seek our way in the world, demanding our needs be met through our loud cries. Initially, our parents take care of everything. But, as with all things in nature, there comes a time when we must develop our survival skills, meet our own needs, and no longer depend on our parents.
Ideally, we learn these vital skills from good parents, family, teachers, and sometimes through our own careless mistakes.
The State of Men’s Mental Health in Western Culture
What's happening to mental health, particularly men's mental health, in Western culture? Here's my perspective:
Are we finally feeling the weight and pressure society has placed upon us to be perfect and high-performance? While I strongly believe in being a high-performing individual, I mean this in the sense of how nature intended us to be. Could it be that superficial societal standards are failing us, slowly but surely breaking us down both mentally and physically? While striving for excellence is admirable, have we distorted this into an inorganic, unnatural and harmful unsustainable standard?
The Pressure Cooker and Male Breakdowns
They say diamonds are made under intense pressure, and sometimes a breakdown is inevitable when something no longer serves our true nature and needs to leave, it paves the way for new ways of being. Clinging to old ways of existence isn't working anymore. It's time to radically rethink what it means to be a "strong man" in today's world.
It’s time for a new approach to become whole beings for the benefit of all mentally and physically. Change requires us to be challenged to give something up, and it’s often the comforting things we've come to know, even when they're no good that ultimately destroys us.
Do we need to relearn what it means to live by nature's laws? Have we drifted so far from understanding what that even means and looks like? Continuing on the current trajectory will come at a great cost to many people's mental and physical health.
Finding Our Internal Compass
We need to recognise, as many already have, that we must stop focusing solely on the external comforts of seeking material wealth and fulfilling our desires to achieve happiness, instead, seeking our internal compass first. We must listen to the inner voice that screams internally when we're completely out of integrity with our lives.
This compass now shows us inwardly and outwardly where we've long been walking a path to destruction, and it's time to take a new route—one leading to spiritual wealth and internal wisdom leading to mental and physical well-being. We've worshipped and chased happiness in all the wrong places, forsaking the true nature of our being.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
The Path to Authentic Masculinity Beyond Societal Pressures
Ultimately, finding calm, peace, and ease in life is an inside job. While society may offer temporary and tempting distractions or fleeting comforts, true contentment comes from aligning with our authentic selves and nature.
As we sail through the pressures of modern life, achieving material wealth and perfection is only an illusion. Once we attain spiritual wealth within our being, everything else is added as a by-product of one's success. Our strength lies not in meeting superficial standards, but in how we respond to life's challenges in integrity and vulnerability as individuals and as a collective.
A Wake-Up Call for Men's Mental Health
Perhaps the rising mental health concerns, particularly among men, are a wake-up call, nudging us urgently to re-evaluate priorities and shift focus from striving for external achievements to furthering our internal growth and wisdom.
Conclusion: The Journey to Well-Being
By reconnecting to our inner compass and seeking spiritual wealth and wisdom, we can find a much
more sustainable path to well-being. This journey won't always be easy, but it offers the promise of a life lived with integrity, purpose, and genuine peace, in alignment with who we truly are.
Reach out to me for a no-strings-attached chat to discover where your life is out of integrity. Booking Email- contact@smileyblue.org
Thank you for reading. I hope you found this writing piece inspiring and thought-provoking. If you enjoy our work, register your email for the free newsletter or subscribe as a valued member and JOIN TODAY!
Did you know I am raising money to build a platform to help support people through the despair of grief and trauma?
This September I will be putting my once-crippled feet to the test by walking 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago to help raise funds. The trip will be self-funded.
Join us in building this vital community. Your contribution will directly impact lives, offering solace and renewed hope to those when they need it most.
SmileyBlue
