Moments of Peace in All the Noise

Maybe you've heard the saying/expression "Stop the world, I want to get off!"

Lately, I have been having a lot of feelings like that... looking around me at the world, and finding no place to rest my eyes and my head, because everything seems like it is just breaking down.

Is there ever "gold" at the end of the rainbow?

A few weeks back, I was watching a YouTube clip where the discussion turned to the issues of depression and rage in this modern world of ours... people get trapped in the seeming meaninglessless of current life, and many quite simply give up.

Oddly enough, one of the points raised was that were are increasingly overwhelmed by choice, and by the choices we are expected to make.

Consider this assertion against the backdrop of marketers and social commentators constantly saying that we are "better off than ever" because of the plethora of options we enjoy that people of past generations simply didn't have access to.

But all these choices come with a price: That price is that the part of our brain responsible for making choices is running at 120% capacity from the moment we wake up till the moment we go to sleep.

So where exactly is the problem?

Well, the "talking heads of wisdom" all recommend that our answer lies in something like meditation and simply slowing down, but we live in an environment that seldom makes that functionally possible.

Of course, I should elaborate here that I am (in large part) looking at this issue through the lens of perception of someone living in the USA where people are particularly obsessed with the ideas of success and grind culture.

"Success" looks different in other parts of the world, and may be attainable via a lower stress path.

Regardless, though, part of our problem is that it's very difficult to step back from the overall environment that keeps our decision-making brain taxed, all the time.

In order to not go completely crazy from the tension and stress of it all, I feel the need to unplug and get away on a regular basis.

To that end, I am very grateful for the ability (and healing) that comes with retreating into nature... even if it is not quite what it used to be, because I end up with a small voice of guilt telling me that I should be working.

But I need my moments of peace!

Why the guilt? Perhaps it is an indication of just how trained we have become to be more tuned into the expectations of others than our own true selves.

Why the tension? Perhaps because we have built this world where it feels like it takes 110% merely to stay in place!

Regardless, I am going to take as many "nature breaks" as I can possibly make time for... because I need my moments of peace!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about YOU? are moments of peace important to you? Where do YOU find your moments of peace? Can you justify taking time for yourself, or does it make you feel guilty? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.01.25 23:38 PST
x1033/2267