Being aware of the peace

Many of us are familiar with the saying "You don't know the value of what you have until you lose it".. Luckily for me, there have been some few cases where I got to understand the importance of certain things without having to lose it first.

_{Photo by Karsten Winegeart}

I've always been an overthinker, even at a little age and this was probably because I was alone and indoors most of the time and I didn't have any gadgets to keep myself busy, just my thoughts. So most times when everyone had left for work, it was mostly just me and my thoughts.

One time during one of my many alone times, I remember talking to myself about the freedom and peace I had at that moment and how little I valued it at the time. I remember telling myself that I currently wasn't in any trouble with my dad (because that was the only trouble I could get in back then) and I wasn't scared of him coming back home from work because I hadn't done anything wrong.

For context, back in the day whenever I go out to play with my friends and it got really late outside, I would walk home slowly, thinking about the ass-whooping of a lifetime I would be getting from my dad. The man has always been a disciplinarian and would always make sure that we got disciplined for any wrong committed. So I always felt like a criminal awaiting judgement whenever I did something wrong, like stay out late.

And that was why at that moment when I was alone all those years ago, when I had no pending issues with my dad, I had taken a moment to really savor the taste of inner peace. Sadly, life happened and I forgot all about that until today while I was seated in my room, minding my business and just having a really good alone time, and that was when it struck me again, it occurred to me that as at this moment right now, I was at peace with myself and I wasn't scared of going out or doing whatever because I had no enemies, at least none that I could think of at the moment.

I've come to realize that feeling this way has made me more aware of the peace and has also helped me in really tapping into it and enjoying it to the maximum. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's never a bad idea to take a pause and just be aware of the things happening around you and if you happen to have peace, enjoy it.