Peace of Mind

By Susan Cleveland

Sarah shook her mother-in-law’s shoulder and gaped at the house. “Did you close the front door all the way before we left?”

Edna nodded from her place in the passenger seat before peering through the windshield. “Of course- I remember the handle was sticking a bit this morning, so I pulled on it extra hard to make sure it was shut. Is something wrong, dear?”

“There sure is- I can see straight down your hallway and into the backyard from where I’m sitting.”

“Oh, my goodness! Should we get out of the car or…?”

A flurry of knocks on the driver’s side door startled them both. Sarah rolled down the window when she recognized the middle-aged woman who lived across the street. 

“I was getting ready to hang out my laundry when I saw a suspicious young man coming out of your place with a television set, so I yelled towards my house at the top of my lungs. I said, Harold, you better go find that darned dog right now because Brutus broke his chain again and you know how vicious he can get! As soon as I finished hollering, the guy jumped into his truck and high-tailed it out of here.”

Edna stepped out of the car and looked at her neighbor quizzically. “But your husband is at work and you don’t have a dog…”

“I know that and you know that,” she replied matter-of-factly “but the thief didn’t know that.”

“Thank you, Grace- that was some quick thinking on your part.”

“You’re welcome. I was just getting ready to call the police when I saw you and your daughter-in-law pulling into the driveway.”

Sarah raised a hand to shield her eyes from the midday sun. “Thank you, Mrs. Nelson- we’ll call the authorities when we go inside.”

***

“I’m going to take a look around before calling the police.”

“Don’t touch anything, Mom- they might want to dust for fingerprints.”

Edna gave her a quick hug. “I love that you still call me Mom, especially since you and my son are divorced. I’ll be back in a few minutes- it won’t take me too long to check a small house like this one.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, it’s okay- I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Yeah, I know- you’re determined to do everything yourself.”

“I think I manage quite well- I don’t know too many other 70 year old women who can pile a cord of wood in one day.”

“I know you’re strong, but you live alone and that worries me sometimes. Look at what happened today! What if you had been here by yourself when that criminal broke in?”

“Grace was watching. Most of the people in our neighborhood keep an eye on each other. This is the first break-in we’ve had around here in almost 15 years.”

“But he stole from you- he took your television and that box I saw by your front entrance this morning! I’d be as mad as a hornet if someone did that to me!”

“I don’t watch television very much these days, and that box was full of old junk I collected while Spring cleaning. The one thing he didn’t steal is my peace.”

Sarah squinted. “What do you mean, he didn’t steal your Peace?”

“Peace is something that usually can’t be taken away without the owner’s permission. It might go missing for a while, but if you know where to look for it, you can find it again.”

“Huh?”

“The guy who robbed me did it for a reason: desperation, perhaps, or a cheap thrill- it’s hard to say. The thing is, Sarah, a person who has Peace will not steal someone else’s. Peace is calm, Peace is understanding, and Peace can be restored.”

***

Sarah was sitting at the table when Edna walked back into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. The two tall glasses of ice water that had been placed side-by-side on circular coasters began dripping with condensation when Edna pulled out a chair to sit down.

“Other than a few magazines scattered on the living room floor, everything seems to be in order. I called the police from the phone in my room- they said they’ll be here soon.”

Sarah tucked an errant strand of blonde hair behind one ear and crossed her arms. “I don’t know how you can be so calm about all of this!”

Edna took a sip of water before answering. “I’ve survived worse things. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that some feelings are more expensive than others.”

Sarah tilted her head and stared. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

“Hate and Anger are emotions the recipient pays for- the receiver might use comfort food or alcohol to soothe the hurt, or they may need therapy: those things cost money. Worry and Stress can lead to headaches or ulcers, which often requires buying medication to heal. Happiness is free- that’s something people give away with no strings attached. Love takes work- it’s a job in a relationship of giving and taking. But Peace is priceless, like a buried treasure. Peace doesn’t flitter about singing La-la-la-la-la, everything is fine when it’s not, nor does it go around pretending that situations are better than they are. Peace is a force to be reckoned with- it’s the ability to be calm despite what’s happening. Much like the eye of a hurricane: it’s a stillness of the mind during the storms of life.”

Sarah’s eyes glistened with tears. “I never thought of it like that before. You really are okay, aren’t you…”

Edna gave her daughter-in-law an affectionate pat on the hand. “Yes, I am. Whether the police are able to find the guy or not; everything will be okay. In the meantime, my dear Sarah, if you want your own peace of mind, I’m willing to show you how to look for it, but it’s something you can only find by yourself.”

“I’m listening…”

“Two things that help me get through a situation like this are, A: knowing that no-one’s going to steal my television set tomorrow, and, B: remembering that more good things have happened today than bad things.“

Sarah chuckled. “Oh, come on- you can’t be serious!”

“Well, I’ll tell ya, when my Edgar passed away twenty years ago; I was a mess: I was devastated, confused, angry- you name it. When I fell asleep later that day, my husband came to me in a dream. He’d looked at me and said I’m not going to die tomorrow, Edna, so I must still be alive, right? That experience changed my perspective, and it provided a lot of comfort. Ever since then, I’ve been looking at things differently.”

“Okay, so how do you do it? Find peace, I mean…”

“I close my eyes, regulate my breathing, and talk to myself using words I’d say to a friend who was upset. I tell myself: It’s alright, Edna. Let’s refocus for a moment. Picture yourself strolling along in a beautiful green meadow, with flowers swaying in a gentle breeze. The sky is blue and the birds are singing. You can use whatever setting you prefer. Speak calmly and enunciate your words, just like someone in charge of a situation would do. Listening to music with a steady beat will help, if you’d rather do that. I read an article about a team of scientists and doctors who discovered something amazing- when their group of test subjects were listening to the same song together, all of their heartbeats synchronized as one. I believe that by controlling your emotions instead of letting your emotions control you can make a huge impact as well.”

When Edna turned her gaze from the kitchen window back to her daughter-in-law, she noticed her eyes were closed and that she was rubbing the back of her neck. “Are you okay, dear?”

“Shhh,” she replied quietly. “I’m getting a massage.”

A joyful tear slipped down Edna’s cheek as she whispered softly: “Congratulations, Sarah- you found your Peace.”

Susan Cleveland is a returning author to the Academy of the Heart and Mind. Her adventurous and inspirational short stories have been published in the Scarlet Leaf Review and in the In The Fog anthologies. She lives with her family in Atlantic Canada