So often we think our suffering comes from the world not being the way we want it to be. We imagine that if people changed, if circumstances shifted, if things were just a little different, then finally we would feel at peace.
But what I’ve discovered is something far simpler—and far more liberating. My suffering didn’t come from a chaotic world. It came from arguing with what is.
When I believed my thoughts, I struggled. When I didn’t believe them, the struggle disappeared. Freedom, it turned out, was never about controlling life. It was about no longer believing the stories my mind told about it.
The Gift Hidden in the Chaos
At first glance, the world may seem “crazy.” The news, the conflicts, the endless changes—it can all look frightening. But what if the very chaos we see is not a curse, but a gift? A mirror, showing us exactly where our minds are still at war.
Every stressful thought we have about the planet, about others, or about ourselves reveals where our energy is being drained. These thoughts don’t show us the truth of the world—they show us the places we resist meeting life as it is.
Freedom doesn’t come from escaping into some perfect, enlightened state outside ourselves. It comes from questioning what we believe. When we stop identifying with the storm of thoughts and simply rest in presence, something profound is revealed:
We are the very peace we’ve been searching for.
We are the gratitude.
We are the love.
The End of Arguing with Life
Life is always changing. Whether we like it or not, nothing stays the same. But when we cling to our expectations—when we argue with how change “should” look—life feels heavy, out of control, even frightening.
Inquiry offers us another way. By gently asking, “Is this thought true?” or “Who would I be without this belief?” we create space. In that space, thoughts soften, and presence shines through. The so-called “craziness” is revealed for what it really is: not in the world, but in our unquestioned beliefs about it.
And when the mind is no longer fighting itself, separation dissolves. The world no longer looks broken or dangerous—it simply is, alive and unfolding, beautiful in its impermanence.
Living as Peace
Who am I without the thought that the world needs fixing? Just a human being sitting in sunlight, writing these words, feeling the warmth on my skin. Simple. Enough.
In truth, there is no future we need to navigate. What appears right now is all there is. And even this moment dissolves as quickly as it arrives. When we stop clinging, we find ourselves flowing with change instead of against it.
Change itself is creation—limitless, efficient, and breathtakingly beautiful.
When the mind is not at war, life reveals its quiet joy. A joy that doesn’t come and go, a joy that no circumstance can touch. It has been here all along, waiting in the stillness of presence.
And in that discovery, the world—even in its apparent madness—becomes radiant.