Sigg Sheppard

We are looking in the wrong place for inner peace. As I prepare to enter yoga teacher training and become a super master guru yoga sensei it has been brought to my attention that many of us are searching for inner peace. The popular techniques for finding said peace include yoga, meditation, reading, writing, walking, and various other boring activities that tend to isolate us. There is no doubt we live in a hyper-connected world and we should set aside time to unplug, but disconnectedness and peace are not the same thing.

There exists a notion that peace can only be found within. Wrong. When I look inside myself I am utterly terrified. The human mind is a cataclysmic hurricane of cognitive dissonance and uncertainty. I don’t even know what those words I just used mean. However, I do know isolating oneself from the world, from relationships, and from reality is a form of escapism. This is for cowards. I know you’re not a coward because you are reading a blog on a site called “half assed yoga”. I admit I am often tempted by escapism. Every menial anxious thought that comes my way prompts me to shut down. It is easier to not deal with the world, it is easier to disconnect and to hide away in oneself claiming spiritual superiority than to engage the horrifying realities of this existence.

The best of us are not those living in distant monasteries, temples, and remote places of confinement. The best of us are those who grind daily. The best of us are those who attack the problems of this world and do not retreat inward. For how are we to serve others and make a difference when we have isolated ourselves in order to do so? I encourage you to stop looking inward for peace. Look outward. You will “find yourself” (or whatever) faster when you build a relationship than you will when you sit quietly and try not to think about how stressed out you are. You will not find peace within yourself, but you may find peace in how you love, and are loved by others. Therefore inner peace is a product of outward action.

The awesome in me recognizes the awesome in you. “Nah-Masty”