PEACE BE WITH YOU

by Mary Arcement Alexander, Licensed Professional Counselor & Diocesan Victim Assistance Minister

PEACE. It is such a simple word to understand yet so many struggle to find it. I will be blunt here, I do not believe there is such a thing as world peace. Before you get angry and quit reading, hear me out please. The reason I say there is no such thing as world peace is because a vast number of people do not have peace within, or at least they appear to have little to no inner peace. I feel confident saying this both as an observation within my private practice as well as what is on various social media platforms and in the news. We cannot expect the world to have peace when so many individuals do not have peace. In order for us to actually have any semblance of world peace, we must first seek inner peace. When you are peaceful, you automatically spread your peace to another and then

they spread peace to another and thus the ripple effect begins. Having said that, I will primarily be speaking to you as a mental health professional for this particular article. I want to do so because quite frankly, mental illness and mental instability are both on the rise and a great deal of it has to do with a lack of peace. A large number of people are so incredibly anxious, angry, bitter, uncomfortable in their bodies, restless in their lives and overall unhappy. Before I go any further I want to acknowledge one truth, and it is this, we have been an anxious, angry, bitter, uncomfortable, restless and unhappy people for centuries. Our world today is not reinventing the wheel. The lack of peace happening currently is not new, rather it is simply different.

I believe a good question to ask now is why? Why are so many people living with little to no inner peace? Once again I can answer this question with many whys but one I see the most is unresolved trauma. A great deal of my clients struggle with some form of trauma. In the therapy world we divide trauma into “Little t” trauma and “Big T” trauma. An example of “Little t” trauma would be a non-fatal car accident. “Big T” trauma is more widely seen as vets who were in combat, people who have been sexually assaulted or abused in some manner, and extreme poverty to name a few. It does not matter as much whether you have little or big trauma. What does matter is have you dealt with your trauma in a healthy way? Have you sought professional help? Have you talked with your priest? If the answers are no, then you have unresolved trauma and if you have unresolved trauma, you have little to no peace within you. With this truth, please note, this does not mean you are walking around angry or sad or bitter or disgruntled. Instead, it means that the peace you may think you have could be passivity or codependency or denial in disguise. These particular traits can sometimes masquerade as peace. The mind is very powerful. It is quite amazing what a person’s mind will have them believe all in the name of self-protection. God is awesome for many reasons but one I am most blown away with as a counselor is how He created our brains to first protect us. I will be bold

and say the only way (outside of Jesus of course) you will have true, sincere peace is to first deal with any and all of your traumas in a healthy way.

In case you are now wondering how to do it all, the answer is simple: ask God. Brothers and sisters, God knows your hurts, your pains, your traumas. Yes it’s true He allowed it all to happen, but that does not mean He was not with you through it all. It does not mean that it was a punishment of any kind. I do not know your traumas nor your pains, but I do know there is hope, there is freedom, there is peace when you acknowledge your traumas, seek proper help and actively begin the process of healing. I can promise you the peace that comes from your healings will sustain you all the days of your life and as a result, you can begin the ripple effect of spreading your peace to the world in which you currently live. Lastly, no matter where you are on your journey for peace, make sure you are stopping along the way and thanking God. Thank Him now before you begin your healing. Thank Him while you are still dealing with any anxiety, anger, bitterness, uncomfortableness, restlessness and/or unhappiness. Thank God in all things, through all things and because of all things.

Peace be with you brother and sisters and with your spirit.