The seventh in our ten-part series, An Espresso of Breath – exploring the still moments between inhale and exhale, between sip and soul.
Peace: Now
Peace arrives in such varied ways. At times, it arrives quietly, almost unnoticed – like the faint warmth of light on your skin, or the pull of a birdsong filling the air. Other times, it arrives more outspokenly, pressing itself through the noise with the commanding authority of what’s always been true, and a gravity that centers – pushing all into the core of what really matters.
At all times, peace awaits beneath the surface, beneath your skin, for your arrival into it.
The actual word peace comes from the Latin pax, meaning “harmony, wholeness, a coming back into accord.” We define it as: ‘a state of wholeness, harmony, or quiet within; freedom from disturbance; and serenity of mind and heart.’ Well, no wonder, we postpone it, think of it as a luxury in today’s modern-day world.
Interestingly, peace was never about the absence of churn and chaos; it has always been about the quiet presence within that chaos. Peace moves through the noise, not around it, whispering its way into even the busiest moments. Peace may even emerge from pressure – from a pull or a push like espresso moments. We need only observe this as a beautiful demonstration: that which we resist often becomes our opening – our note, our doorway – into revelation.
Now, right now, brew and embody the peace revealed as the pressure builds, the steam hisses and that very intensity draws the flavor out. “A ritual of bold focus, crafted through pressure and presence,” expressed eloquently by Tanya.
Brew, now, right now and embody the peace revealed in the slow pour as the steeping water swirls and spirals in the dripper – drawn-out, lingering motion. “A ritual of quiet clarity, steeped in stillness and grace,” said poetically by Tanya.
Peace: Now. It is found within the intensity and the lingering of the inner world – not in the external world – in your inner world. In moments. Here. Now.
Your inner peace isn’t a goal or an outcome to strive towards. It doesn’t need to be chased – just noticed. It isn’t awarded or earned. It is your rightful state of being. It is your innate rhythm of living. Right now.
Breathe Out Now.
Let your exhale carry your unwanted thoughts. See them drift away as you exhale. Nothing to fix, nothing to prove, and nothing to hold.
Breathe In Now.
Listen as your breath is the sound beneath sound – sure, steady, and infinite calling you into peace: now.
In Breath and Being, Heidi
— Written by Heidi M. Weiker, Sister, Storyteller, and Voice of Stillness at Espresso Momenti