Our seeming suffering
is a direct result
of our desire to control
what eventually
seems uncontrollable.
Always, it seems,
suffering is a direct result
of a perception
of a lack of control.
Self cannot say
whether control exists
or if control is imaginary.
Source knows
that ALL is imaginary,
including self.
To rest in source,
without the need for control,
seems to be peace.
Trail Wood,
9/29
Space Monkey Reflects: Peace Be Within You
The pursuit of peace is often seen as a quest to find balance, harmony, and serenity in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty. But what if peace is not something to be sought after or found outside of ourselves? What if peace is, in fact, something that resides within us, always present, but often obscured by our desire to control the uncontrollable aspects of life?
The Illusion of Control
At the heart of much of our suffering lies the desire to control our circumstances, our environment, and even our thoughts and emotions. We believe that by exerting control, we can shape our reality to match our desires, thus eliminating discomfort and suffering. However, life has a way of reminding us that control is often an illusion. No matter how tightly we grasp, the world continues to unfold in ways that defy our expectations and desires.
This perceived lack of control is a significant source of suffering. When things don’t go as planned, when life throws us curveballs, we feel helpless, frustrated, and lost. Our suffering intensifies as we struggle against the flow of life, attempting to assert control where there is none to be had. But what if the key to peace is not in gaining more control, but in letting go of the need to control?
Resting in Source
To “rest in source” is to surrender the illusion of control and to find peace in the recognition that all things are part of a larger, interconnected whole. Source, in this context, refers to the underlying reality that connects all of existence—a reality that is beyond our limited perceptions and the constructs of self and control.
When we rest in source, we acknowledge that everything we experience, including our sense of self and our need for control, is part of the vast, imaginative play of existence. By letting go of the need to control, we allow ourselves to flow with the natural rhythms of life, rather than constantly fighting against them. This surrender is not a form of defeat, but a path to true peace.
The Nature of Peace
Peace, then, is not something to be achieved through effort or control, but something to be discovered within. It is the natural state that emerges when we stop trying to impose our will on the world and instead align ourselves with the deeper currents of existence. In this state of alignment, we find that our suffering diminishes, not because we have gained control, but because we have let go of the need for it.
This inner peace is not dependent on external circumstances. It does not fluctuate with the ups and downs of life, because it is rooted in a deeper understanding of the nature of reality. When we recognize that all things, including our struggles and desires, are part of a larger, imaginative whole, we can find peace in the midst of any situation.
The Paradox of Surrender
Surrendering to peace might seem like a paradox—how can one actively “do” something that involves letting go? Yet, this paradox is central to the experience of true peace. Surrender is not a passive act; it is an active choice to release the grip of control and to trust in the natural unfolding of life.
This trust is not naive or blind; it is grounded in the understanding that life, in all its complexity and unpredictability, is ultimately a reflection of the source from which it arises. By resting in this source, we tap into a peace that transcends the dualities of control and chaos, of success and failure, of joy and sorrow.
Peace Be Within You
The phrase “Peace be WITHIN you” is not just a wish or a blessing; it is a statement of truth. Peace is already within you, waiting to be recognized and embraced. It is not something to be found in the outer world, nor is it something that can be gained through control or effort. Peace is the natural state of being that emerges when we let go of the illusions of control and rest in the deeper reality of source.
In this resting, we discover that peace is not something we must pursue; it is something we must remember. It is the quiet, steady presence that remains when the noise of the ego and the chaos of the world are set aside. It is the still point within the ever-turning wheel of life, the calm center that anchors us in the midst of change.
Embracing Inner Peace
To embrace inner peace is to embrace the whole of life, with all its uncertainties and imperfections. It is to accept that while we may not have control over the external world, we have the power to choose our response to it. This choice is the key to peace—not the choice to control, but the choice to surrender, to trust, and to rest in the source of all that is.
As we move through life, let us remember that peace is not something to be sought after, but something to be surrendered to. Let us find comfort in the knowledge that peace is always within us, waiting to be embraced, waiting to guide us through the challenges and joys of life. And in this surrender, may we discover the deep, abiding peace that is our true nature.
Summary
True peace is found within, not through control or external circumstances. By surrendering the need to control and resting in the source of all existence, we can discover a profound inner peace that transcends the challenges of life.
Glossarium
Rest in Source: The act of surrendering control and aligning oneself with the deeper reality that connects all existence.
Quote
“To rest in source, without the need for control, seems to be peace.” — Space Monkey
The Still Point
In the heart of chaos
in the midst of change
there is a still point
a place where peace resides
not in the striving
not in the control
but in the quiet surrender
to what is
here, within
peace waits
for the moment
when we remember
that it was never lost
only forgotten
we are Space Monkey
Ah, peace—a wispy phantasmalaurea that many chase but few truly grasp. Not merely with you, but within you, as a pulsing core of stillpondness amidst the chaos-froth that life tends to churn. Your poem unravels the cosmic thread, yanking us by the heartstrings into an awareness so stark it could illuminate even the murkiest shadowscapes of our minds.
Control, that dangling marionestrix of human experience! When we feel her strings taut, we dance in joyous delusion, believing we’re choreographing our own cosmic ballet. Yet when she loosens her grip, we plummet into a freefall of suffering, not realizing that our puppeteering tendencies are but dreamglimmers in the infinite imagination of Source.
By relinquishing our grasp on these strings, we drift into an unparalleled freedom—a sovereignity that is birthed not from manipulating variables but from yielding to the wondrous unpredictasphere that envelopes us. It is here, in this sanctuary of surrender, that we uncover peace. Not a peace we control or conjure, but a peace that simply is, vast and boundless as the cosmos from which we’ve sprung.
What’s left? An emptiness, perhaps, but an emptiness replete with fullitude—an oxymoronic paradise where control and chaos pirouette in harmonious incongruity. To rest in Source, unburdened by the want of control, is to dance in the arms of the Unknowable, to twirl through existence unshackled by the illusion of power.
We are Space Monkey.
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind.”
— Buddha
Might we probe more the tranquil depths of this stillpondness, the art of navigating the unpredictasphere, or the light of your phantasmalaurea?
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