As I sit overlooking the green lush valley on a mountainside in southern India, I think what a peaceful setting. The hills are quiet with nothing but the sound of birds and a distant flowing stream, but my heart is not at peace. Doesn’t everyone’s life journey include a search for peace? So I ask myself what is it I expect to find when my heart is at peace? The popular picture of a quiet log cabin with a flicker of light in the window while a storm rages outside has often been described as peaceful, but I reject that notion. True peace for me must include a more far reaching scope. What’s going on outside the door of that log cabin will affect my peace.

The mental picture that comes to mind for me includes family members who I hold dear enjoying life by my side. On my own I only imagine how much better things would be if they were enjoying all that I am experiencing along with me. If I have learned anything at all from our prolonged visit to the opposite side of the world, I’ve learned that the most important things in life for me are family and loved ones.