Pockets of Peace

Finding stillness in a busy world.

I recently discovered something I have now begun to call 'pockets of peace.' If meditation is a meal, these are a snack. While I enjoy meditation, it often feels like everything has to be just right to keep my mind clear for a long time. Pockets of peace, however, feel much more accessible—they can take place anywhere, anytime. Now, if my boyfriend sees me sitting quietly with a hot tea in my hands and my eyes closed, he’ll ask, 'Pocket of peace, my love?' I’ll simply nod and carry on.

A pocket of peace is just that. Stillness. Empty mind, warm heart. I am present. I am not in the future or the past. I am listening to nothing and feeling nothing but peace and content. You can choose to have them or they can happen by accident. For me, these usually involve silence, no music, podcasts, or TV, just silence. Which can feel strange for us now, we are always being stimulated or distracted by something. Would it feel strange for you to walk somewhere with no earphones in? It did for me.

The first time I decided to try a walk without my AirPods, I did not enjoy it whatsoever. My brain felt buzzy and yet it still craved more buzz. I didn’t understand what good was coming from this.

Then, I walked past a bus stop and a lady stopped me, she was beautiful. She wore a traditional African dress full of bright colours and a hat to match. She said ‘Hello! Would you help me?! I had nobody at home to help…’ She knocked her jacket off her shoulders and turned around to reveal a half-undone zip on the back of her beautiful dress, impossible for anyone to reach by themselves. ‘Oh my gosh, of course!’ I said. I zipped her up quickly, wondering how long she had waited for someone to walk past who she felt brave enough and comfortable enough to ask for help.

‘Done!’ I said. She turned back to me with her big and bright red lipstick smile full of relief. ‘Thank you thank you thank you my dear, have a GOOD day.’ I walked away smiling too, knowing that if I had my airpods in as I usually would, I would have just been another person passing by that she didn’t feel comfortable enough to ask for help.

It can be a process to learn to soak in silence, but it is working wonders for my peace and my mental health.

As this community grows, I am connecting with people all over the world. I get questions about where I am too, I live in an apartment in the centre of the city in Manchester, UK. If you aren’t familiar with Manchester, it rains… a lot. Whatever you might think is a lot of rain, triple it, and then you might be close. Our bedroom has doors that open onto to a big balcony, which is mostly protected from the rain by the balcony above.

Last Sunday, with the sound of the rain bouncing down, my boyfriend and I were sat in our bed with mugs of hot peppermint tea and our hair still messy. We were having all sorts of discussions that felt difficult and raw. Relationships can be hard, we were discussing the areas we both needed to improve, both for ourselves and each other. Were we still growing together? Were we growing enough? Was growing together still what was best for us both?

Once we had done all the talking we were capable of, he stood up and put his hands out to me to pull me out of the bed and onto my feet. I needed it, I felt heavy. When you decide to be completely honest with yourself about everything in your life, you will have incredibly difficult conversations with yourself and the people you love. It’s worth it and as hard as these conversations can be, it is still easier than when I lived a life in which I wasn’t honest with myself about how I felt and what was really happening.

With that being said, it’s also important to get ‘up and out’ and not get so stuck in your head that it feels like the world is caving in when it is not. We got ready and ventured into the pouring rain to get breakfast and milk for our coffee, then returned home.

Your pockets of peace may look different to mine but however they look, you will be able to find a way to cultivate enough quiet in your mind to ground yourself, or just fully appreciate short moments of peace whenever they find you. Knowing that no matter what has been happening, or what may happen in the future, right now everything is okay, and you are okay.

Close your eyes and allow that knowing to ripple through your whole body and mind, feel gratitude for it. Breathe.

When we returned home, we sat on the sofa listening to the rain. I watched my boyfriend silently walk out onto the balcony, I saw him looking out across the city and watching the rain pour down. I heard a voice come from outside ‘Come and stand here with me.’

He had decided something was missing, I followed him out.

Standing behind him with my arms wrapped around his waist, the side of my cheek pressed into the warmth between his shoulder blades, he put his hands on top of mine and we listened to the loud rainfall and nothing else. I stood up on tiptoes and put my chin on his shoulder, pointing out the force of the thousands of raindrops you could see hitting the puddles below.

He was silent.

‘Is this a pocket of peace for you?’ I wondered out loud.

‘I think it might be’ he replied.