#findingpeace — Public Fediverse posts

The early morning is still dark when my hound and I arrive at the dog park. Almost immediately, there is a flash of white, and suddenly chaos ensues.

A cat is trapped inside the smaller of the two fenced-in areas. Even though a chain-link fence separates the two, both animals instantly go into a frenzy. My hound begins howling, while the terrified cat races back and forth, careening into the fence as it desperately searches for a way out.

I try to help it escape, all to the loud dismay of my hound, but the cat is too frightened to understand what I am doing. After crashing into the fence several times, it finally collapses low into the grass and simply lies there. I keep my distance, unsure whether it may be injured or sick.

Eventually, I leave the gates open and manage to pull my thoroughly over-hyped hunter away from the scene, fighting against everything years of breeding and evolution have taught her to do.

It takes most of the morning at home—and then a return trip to the now-empty dog park, where she follows one scent trail after another—before she finally begins to calm down.

Needless to say, it was not the most ideal way to start my day.

I, too, needed some time before I could let the chaos of the morning fade away.

And perhaps that was the first lesson.

There are some things that are better left alone.

That sounds simple enough, but I am not especially good at it. Neither, apparently, is my hound.

Once she caught the scent, something ancient took over. The world became very small. There was no longer a dog park, no morning, no leash, no person calling her name. There was only the cat.

I wonder how often I live that way.

Something catches my attention—a problem, a slight, a fear, an argument, a worry, some unfinished thing—and suddenly the whole world narrows around it. I circle it. I howl at it. I follow its scent long after the thing itself has disappeared.

There are habits in us that are older than our intentions.

The hound was not making a philosophical decision to terrorize a cat. She was doing what generations of hounds had prepared her to do. Her body knew before her mind could know.

Human beings are not so different.

We carry instincts of our own: to defend ourselves, to retaliate, to prove ourselves right, to pursue what frightens us, to hold tightly to what we think belongs to us. Sometimes we call these things personality. Sometimes, principle. Sometimes even righteousness.

But occasionally, they are simply old instincts running loose.

The spiritual life may involve learning that not everything within us deserves obedience.

Paul wrote about taking thoughts captive. Jesus spoke repeatedly of watching, waking, remaining alert. Perhaps part of discipleship is noticing the moment when something inside us begins to run.

There is a hound within me, too.

There are things I chase simply because they moved.

There are arguments that do not need another reply. There are offenses that do not need another inspection. There are anxieties whose scent I follow until I have wandered miles from peace.

Sometimes, faithfulness means pursuit.

Sometimes, faithfulness means calling the hound home.

But there was another creature in the story.

The cat.

The more frightened it became, the harder it tried to escape. And the harder it tried to escape, the more violently it crashed into the fence.

There was probably an opening somewhere. I had opened gates. I was trying to make a way.

But fear could not see the opening.

Fear only saw the threat.

So the cat ran harder.

I know something about that, too.

There are moments when I become frightened enough that I begin throwing myself against whatever boundary happens to be nearest. I want out of the discomfort immediately. I want the problem solved now. I want certainty restored.

And sometimes, in trying so desperately to escape, I hurt myself against the very thing I am trying to get through.

The Psalmist says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

We often print those words on peaceful photographs of mountains and lakes.

But perhaps they belong just as much at a chain-link fence.

Be still.

Not because there is no danger.

Not because everything is fine.

But because panic is not always capable of recognizing an opening.

There are times when running is necessary.

And there are times when running harder only drives us deeper into the fence.

Eventually, the cat did something remarkable.

It stopped.

It lowered itself into the grass and became almost completely still.

At first, I thought it might be injured. Perhaps it was.

But there was also something strangely wise about that surrender. When every frantic attempt had failed, the animal finally quit fighting the entire world.

Sometimes, this is where grace begins.

Not when we finally overpower the situation.

But when we stop exhausting ourselves against it.

“Come to me,” Jesus says, “all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.”

Not: figure everything out.

Not: run faster.

Not: break the fence.

Come.

Rest.

There is perhaps a third lesson as well, and it concerns my own place in the drama.

I could not make either animal understand what I was trying to do.

The cat could not understand that I was trying to help it.

The hound could not understand why I was preventing her from doing the one thing that seemed most important in the universe.

From their perspectives, I was probably interfering with both of them.

Yet I could see something, neither could you see.

I could see the whole enclosure.

I could see the gates.

I could see the fence.

I could see the danger.

I could see the way out.

That thought has stayed with me.

Perhaps there are moments when God seems strangely obstructive because God sees the whole enclosure.

We pull toward something, and the leash tightens.

We run toward an opening and somehow find ourselves redirected.

We pray for one thing and receive another.

From inside our frightened or excited little worlds, divine restraint can feel like abandonment or interference.

But perhaps the One holding us back can see something we cannot.

The old prayer says,

Your will be done.

There are days when that prayer may simply mean:

God, if I am chasing something I should leave alone, pull me back.

If I am panicking against a fence, help me become still enough to see the gate.

And if I cannot understand what you are doing, help me trust that you see more of the field than I do.

By the time my hound and I returned to the dog park later that morning, the cat was gone.

Only the scent remained.

Naturally, the hound investigated every inch of it.

She ran from fence to fence, nose down, reconstructing the entire drama from invisible traces.

Eventually even those grew faint.

Her breathing slowed.

Her body loosened.

The morning became a morning again.

Perhaps that is grace too.

The thing that once filled the entire world eventually becomes only a scent in the grass.

The crisis passes.

The fear fades.

The instinct quiets.

What seemed moments earlier to demand every ounce of our attention becomes simply one more thing that happened.

And somewhere between the hound and the cat I recognize myself.

Sometimes I am the pursuer.

Sometimes I am the pursued.

Sometimes I chase things better left alone.

Sometimes I run terrified into fences that cannot possibly become doors.

The difficult wisdom is learning which is which.

Perhaps this is why the spiritual life requires so much attention.

To know when to pursue.

To know when to stop.

To know when to run.

To know when to lie quietly in the grass.

To know when the leash pulling against us is not punishment but mercy.

And above all, to remember that somewhere beyond the frenzy there may already be an open gate we are simply too frightened—or too excited—to see.

Prayer

God of the open gate,

When I chase what I should release, call me home.

When old instincts rise in me—fear, anger, pride, the need to be right—teach me that not every impulse deserves obedience.

When I am frightened and cannot see a way forward, keep me from throwing myself again and again against the same fence. Slow my breathing. Quiet my spirit. Help me become still enough to notice the opening I could not see before.

Give me wisdom to know when to pursue and when to stop, when to act and when to wait, when to hold on and when to let go.

And when your restraint feels like a leash pulling against everything I want, give me enough trust to believe that you may see more of the field than I do.

Make me gentle with frightened creatures, including the frightened places within myself.

Let the things that consume me today become, in time, only a fading scent in the grass.

And when chaos narrows my world, remind me that beyond the fence there is still a morning, still a horizon, still grace, and perhaps an open gate I have not yet learned to see.

Amen.

A Day in the Life at Duffney’s Bird Barn

https://duffneysbirdbarn.wordpress.com/2026/07/13/a-day-in-the-life-at-duffneys-bird-barn/

The Light Within (Christian Music) = Fresh tune of praise 🙏 for our Savior! - #God #Jesus #TheLord #Praise #ChristianMusic #Bible #Music #Song #PathOfTruth #SpiritualAwakening #YouthWorship #FaithJourney #ChristianTogetherness #GodsLove #FindingPeace #SoulImpact #DivineMessage #YoungBelievers #WorshipSong #ChristianLifestyle #PraiseAndWorship #LivingFaith #FaithRenewal #LightOfChrist #GodsPlan #SpreadingHope #CommunityFaith - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvnkvL0hllE

Light Within Darkness (Christian Music) = New song of praise ✨ for our Heavenly King! - #God #Jesus #TheLord #Praise #ChristianMusic #Bible #Music #Song #YoungChristians #FaithJourney #SpiritualGrowth #GodsLove #Inspiration #Prayer #Worship #BibleStudy #ChristianCommunity #HolySpirit #JesusTeachings #OvercomingDoubt #FindingPeace #StrengthInFaith #LivingByExample #EmbracingGrace #GodsPlan #HopeAndHealing #Forgiveness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

I have to admit I thought long and hard about including the 1st photo in this post as I look and felt so vulnerable but then I realised that I should because that’s the whole point.
Vulnerable is exactly how I’m feeling and have been feeling for a good week and that feeling will be high up there until after my birthday on the 23rd of this month. Now that I’m exploring my feelings instead of ignoring them, I’m aware that I feel this way every year. My birthday has always been tied up with feelings of rejection, pain and loss. I can honestly say I haven’t had many birthdays at all that have been joyful but those years that were I hold very dear because they are so rare.
I have decided to pick through all of the pain so that I can finally find peace, hopefully. As birthdays are supposed to be celebrations (so I’m told) I would like for this one to be the last painful one.
This morning I found a bubble blower and I sat feeling extremely vulnerable and I blew bubbles. I connected with my always sad and confused inner child and let her feel peace. The chirping of the birds, the sun on her skin, the beauty of the bubbles in the sunshine and that magical popping sound. No pressure, no anything, just being exactly in the moment of beauty and wonder. I think allowing my inner child out is key to healing, she went through so much and deserves to feel joy, laughter and freedom to be her without judgement. I say without judgement because it’s something I’ve always done since I was a child and it’s stifled me as an adult.
I have a week or so to figure out how but I’m going to try and let this birthday be one for my inner child, to see if I can help us to heal. #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthjourney #healing #healingfromtrauma #healingisaprocess #innerchild #innerchildtherapy #therapy #findingjoy #findingpeace #workinprogress

Something peaceful for your day...

Lone Canoe at Sunset: https://renata-natale.pixels.com/featured/lone-canoe-at-sunset-renata-natale.html

#findingpeace #Photography #MastoArt #sunsetsky #NaturePhotograhpy #canoeing #tranquility

Your voice and unique hobbies matter more than you think. Small actions can have big impacts. Embrace your hobbies for joy, growth, and potential world-changing influence.

https://froydinger.com/embracing-your-unique-hobbies-making-a-difference-in-your-life-and-beyond/

Join Akira on a transformative #journey as he learns the #power of emptying the #mind in this captivating Zen #story. Overcome worry, embrace #mindfulness, and find inner peace. #ZenStory #EmptyYourMind #findingpeace

https://youtu.be/GNDO2G6YySA?si=_w29pDKBwayKpT-x

Winter Moments

In the winter, when the days are short and the nights long, it’s easy for anyone to feel a bit lonely, especially during the holiday season. This time of year, even during celebrations, one can fall into a quiet introspection.

There’s something special about this quieter time. It’s an opportunity for personal reflection, much like nature itself in winter. This season encourages us to slow down, think about where we are, and where we’re heading.

One way I find comfort and perspective during these moments is to pay attention to the beauty of the world around us big or small. For instance, the intricate patterns of ice up close. It’s incredible how something so simple can reveal such complex designs and artistry. The delicate details in ice crystals can be a gentle reminder of the beauty of life.

While the holidays are happening around you, remember to take a moment for yourself, I’ve taken a bunch of moments just to reset. Look at the beauty big or small of the world. It’s a way to connect with the here and now, to find calm and in the peace of nature. This can be a source of strength and energy. Sometimes we just need that reminder that sunnier days are ahead.

#ArchiveWasPublic_ #Contemplative #EmotionalHealing #EmotionalWellness #FindingPeace #HealingNature #HolidayReflections #HolidaySolitude #IceArt #InnerPeace #InnerStrength #Inspirational #InspirationalThoughts #IntrospectiveJourney #LifeJourney #LifeLessons #LifeReflections #MacroPhotography #MindBodySoul #MindfulLiving #MindfulMoments #Mindfulness #NatureSArt #NatureInspiration #NatureLovers #NaturePhotography #PeacefulMoments #PersonalGrowth #PersonalJourney #QuietContemplation #QuietMoments #ReflectiveMood #SeasonalBeauty #SeasonalChanges #SeasonalMindfulness #SelfReflection #Serenity #SimpleBeauty #SolitaryBeauty #Solitude #SoulSearching #ThoughtfulLiving #WinterContemplation #WinterMeditation #WinterMindfulness #WinterReflections #WinterSolace #WinterSolstice #WinterWonder_

The soliloquy of a man's inner self is the reflection, not of what others perceive, but what he truly is.

For in the cool of the day, sheltered by the fog, for a man at peace with himself; there is no other.

Out of Exile - 1991

I've always thought about artists rendering their impressions of my poems. What would this look like?

#poetry #SelfReflection #FindingPeace #SelfAwareness #writing #prose #philosophy #PoetryCommunity #HashtagsNobodyWillEverSearch #InvisibleDisability #PoetryNobodyWillEverFind
@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice