by Lizzie Elzingre

Created on: January 19, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

If we are to re-define peace in today's economic conditions, it is inner tranquility in age of stress brought by the complexities of modern life. Bad economic times make everybody worried sick about jobs, and their financial status.

Since it is not possible to tolerate stress for a long time, for fear that you become insane, how you will overcome, then, what seems to be undefeatable? How would you stop feeling miserable, if reason and consciousness do not want to forget?

When a friend suddenly found herself without job after 15 years, the hardest times she had were when she allowed her mind to project into the future with self-talk statements like "What if I exhaust all my savings?"

While we normally find ourselves in this behavior, we have to be more aware of the need to pull our mind back to today, telling ourselves, "I can handle this, right now." There has to be a continuing awareness of the need to pull back starting in the personal level.

Jesus tells us that the birds of the air do not worry, and they are well take care of and fed. The flowers of the field do not fret, and they are beautifully clothed.

Jesus is not talking about escaping the stresses of life. He is not saying, we relax and not worry. However, Jesus is giving us much deeper reason why we should not worry. The Father in heaven is taking care of us.

We have to be mature about how we apply this principle. Mature Christians must know how to entrust situations or conditions to God and make a deliberate decision to do so. As we put God and his will first in our lives, everything else falls into place.

Together with our self-knowledge on coping with difficulties, we should keep prayers and meditation, which are fundamental and essential in our quest for spiritual peace.

In the Oasis of Silence

Quiet times replenish, renew, and recharge life with spiritual peace and spiritual balance. In silence, we can reconnect with our true source of energy and wisdom. Those months you spend on the sofa, meditating about unemployment is not a wasted time. You are thinking. Your pause actually keeps you on course.

Pausing in silence allows us to connect with inner guidance. Like a dance, the best moves come out when the music slows down. A slow, rhythmic, pace is the best type of movement because we will learn to recalibrate our paths when we pause. Likewise, only in solitude can we hear the whispers and urgings of our spiritual self.

Sometimes God gives us the strength and the wisdom to do what we must do. At other times,

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