I don’t know about you, but nowadays, I feel like I am always busy. Consumed with the constant stream of information from my phone, laptop, and the news, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the weight of world and how to manage it all. On top of this information overload, balancing a job, loved ones, and even pets often makes my life “to – do list” longer than I anticipate. Those feelings of chaos and frenzy become far too familiar while trying to steady the many moving parts of my life, and I often seem to forget a key player – ME. I wonder how often I really take the time to tune in with myself. How about you? Our body, mind, and soul serve as our home base, and without this settled constant, we can so easily feel lost, scattered, and stressed.

During the Create A Vision of Peace Workshop, facilitator Heather Skoll asked us to tune in to ourselves. With her kind and calming approach, Heather spoke about the importance of taking care of yourself and how to do this by creating your own vision of peace. The workshop challenged myself and the other participants to think about what peace means to us, and how this may vary from person to person. In the hour and fifteen minutes together, Heather successfully engaged us all to think about what our own vision of peace looks like, and how we can achieve this in our everyday lives. Through the interactive “Peace Bubble” activity, we built relationships that fostered supportive learning and sharing in a safe and inviting space. The activity provided us all with a useful tool that we can access and use any time we feel the need to check in with our own feelings of peace. The difference in the energy of the room from when we arrived to when we left was incredible! As the workshop wrapped up, the room was electric, and it was clear that everyone, including myself, left feeling uplifted, supported, and peaceful in our own way.

I now feel confident that I have the skills and tools to help ease those far too familiar overwhelming feelings. I feel better prepared to take care of my home base, and to find time to tune in to myself to maintain a more peaceful me. 

Thank you Heather for the most valuable part of my week, and for helping me to reset, refocus, and feel peaceful.

Thank you Dr. Chawla and the Richmond Hill Optometric Clinic for sharing your space to host the workshop, and for creating such a welcoming environment!