How to Find Peace No Matter What’s Happening In The World

Are You Caught in Life’s Endless Cycles?Do you ever feel like you’re being tossed around by forces beyond your control? One moment, you’re clear-headed and at peace; the next, you’re restless and overwhelmed, and sometimes, you feel completely stuck. These shifting states are not random but part of a deeper rhythm governing the universe and our inner lives. Understanding these cycles and, more importantly, learning how to rise above them can change how you experience everything from personal struggles to global crises.Grief 2 Growth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The Dance of the Gunas and the Illusion of ControlLife unfolds in cycles. Just as night gives way to day, as the seasons transition from the dormancy of winter to the vibrancy of spring, so do we experience cycles within ourselves—moments of clarity and peace, times of restless striving, and phases of inertia or despair. These fluctuations are the interplay of the three gunas—sattva (balance, wisdom), rajas (activity, passion), and tamas (darkness, inertia)—described in the Bhagavad Gita. They are not merely psychological states but the very rhythms of nature, existing both within and outside us.I’ve been reading the Bhagavad Gita lately, which has prompted deep reflection on my engagement with the world. I find myself wrestling with balancing being fully engaged in what is happening around me while transcending it. The simple answer, often drawn from Buddhism, suggests that since attachment leads to suffering, all we need to do to avoid suffering is to detach from outcomes. But to me, that feels like a denial of our humanity. Of course, we prefer peace over war, prosperity over poverty, and health over sickness. I would be less than human if I did not. The challenge is to care deeply without being consumed by that care—to take right action while knowing the results do not define us.Beyond the Moods of the Mind: Choosing the Higher PerspectiveThe gunas are both external forces shaping the world and internal energies shaping our consciousness. Nature has gunas in the external world. We have them internally.Tamas manifests as stagnation and despair, both within us and in societal inertia. Rajas fuels ambition and movement, sometimes constructive and sometimes chaotic. Sattva is the clarity and balance that allow us to see beyond temporary fluctuations. The key is to navigate these cycles with clarity and wisdom, not to fight them. Our moods, like the tides, ebb, and flow, driven by forces both seen and unseen. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that we are not the waves—we are the ocean. Our subconscious self (ego) reacts instinctively, our conscious self navigates the present moment, and our higher self remains eternally untouched by the shifting currents. These are not separate entities but different perspectives of the same being. When we mistakenly identify with the ego's perspective, we get caught in the illusion that we are our thoughts, our struggles, and our suffering. But when we shift to the higher perspective, we rise above the turbulence of the gunas, witnessing them rather than being ruled by them.Jesus’ words resonate deeply here: “Be in the world but not of it.” Have you ever wondered what He meant by that? I believe He was calling us to be engaged, care, and take action, but we must keep the proper perspective on our world's illusory and temporary nature. This is the art of right action without attachment: participating in the cycles of life without being consumed by them, feeling without becoming lost in emotion, acting without being attached to results, and grieving without being destroyed by sorrow.The World in Turmoil: What Can We Do?In today’s world, chaos seems to reign—wars rage, social upheaval shakes foundations, the rich get richer, and uncertainty looms over the future. It is tempting to disengage completely (tamas) or engage in frantic activism fueled by anger and fear (rajas). I see people at both extremes right now.But there is another way—sattva, the way of clarity and right action.We must advocate for what is just without attachment to immediate outcomes. We must engage with the world’s suffering, yet remember that at the soul level, we remain untouched. This does not mean spiritual bypassing or ignoring reality; it means embodying true presence, acting from wisdom rather than reactivity, and being the calm center in the storm.The Call to Rise AboveSo, how do we live in the world without being of the world? The answer lies in mastering the art of detachment and presence simultaneously—fully engaging in the world while remembering that we are not the shifting tides of circumstance.* When fear and despair rise, pause and shift to a higher perspective. Ask yourself, "Who is witnessing this emotion?"* When the world demands urgency, respond with clarity, not panic.* When hopelessness whispers, return to the eternal truth—that at the soul level, we are already whole, already at peace.The cycles will continue. The world will rise and fall in waves of crisis and calm. But you are not these cycles. You are the stillness beneath them. You are the ocean, not the waves.Go within and rise above. Choose the higher perspective. And from that place of calm and resolve, take the right action.Doctor, my eyesTell me what you seeI hear their criesJust say if it's too late for meDoctor, my eyesBut cannot see the skyIs this the prizeFor having learned how not to cry?Jackson Browne- Doctor, My Eyes This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit grief2growth.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit grief2growth.substack.com/subscribe