One of the best pieces of advice anyone has ever given me, the one I refer to the most when helping others, the one that I would nearly credit for saving my life, came from my dear friend Audrey. It is so simple, yet so profound on so many levels.

Follow the path of peace.

I don’t know about you but my insides do a pretty remarkable job of telling me when I’m not at peace. Unhealthy choices are almost always accompanied with feeling like a sack of rocks just landed in my stomach. Stress and tension set up camp in my back. Confusion and chaos cause whirlwinds in my brain. My hands shake. My vision blurs.

And sometimes I can barely even see the path of peace.

Even though I’m fairly competent at making decisions, I still find myself often torn in two between my spirit and my flesh. Everything in my physical being pulls me one direction while my still small voice cautions against it.

Follow the path of peace.

I found something interesting in this process. No matter where I am in my decision-making process, the path of peace is always only a step away. At any point, I can decide that this turmoil isn’t for me any more.

At any moment I can extend the first olive branch in a strained relationship. At any moment I can turn to start walking away from an addiction. At any moment I can look up from my hurried craze. At any moment I can stop, I can pause, I can shift.

Follow the path of peace.

I’m not perfect, but I’ve come a long way. I’ve begun to listen to the triggers in my body and my head, my still small voice when it cautions me. I’ve decided to spend a lot of time on this path.

The path of peace isn’t always interesting, It’s not always an adventure. It isn’t always exciting. It is almost never fun. It doesn’t seem to meet my demands or feed my cravings. But after just a few steps down the path, something else becomes very apparent.

None of those things matter.

All the excitement and cravings and adventures and risks and intriguing and productive things in life won’t ever meet your needs. We can jump from event to event, relationship to relationship, opportunity to opportunity and still be in turmoil. We can test the waters on possibilities of things we know we should stay away from, but our intrigue will never be fulfilled.

Follow the path of peace.

I’m an opportunist. I love adventure. I love relationships. I love productivity. I love to make the most of every moment. Sometimes those are along the path of peace, sometimes they are not.

When I find myself questioning if something is right or not, it probably isn’t. When I start pushing myself to exhaustion to pull something together, I should probably just stop and rest. When I am grasping at thin air trying to hold a friendship together that is slipping away and isn’t coming back, I should probably just let it go. When I start losing sleep, feeling the rocks in my stomach, the tension in my back, the whirlwind in my head, the tremor in my hands, I should probably reevaluate where my feet are slipping and how I can regain my footing.

Follow the path of peace.

Peace is where we rest, where we listen, where we are rooted. Peace is where we drink deeply, where we sleep deeply, where we love deeply. The path of peace is where we don’t have to wonder if what we’re doing is right or wrong or if we’re missing something that we might enjoy. The path of peace is the best place for our whole being. If it’s not on that path, it’s probably not for you.

Follow the path of peace.