However, a good sailor knows that it is a great opportunity to learn more about the sea and his own ship. If the sailor knows how to take advantage of the storm, he becomes a better sailor every day, in spite of the breakdowns. Is there always a risk of shipwreck? Yes, of course, but there will always be new opportunities to go out to sea in different conditions, sometimes on a simpler boat, sometimes on a solo voyage. It will be the same sea, but in different waters; the same sailor, but now he can survive the storms. This is how peace grows.

We manage to avoid some dangers, but not all. No matter how careful a person is, they cannot hide from the risks associated with a full life, nor can they avoid disasters, whether material or emotional. As inevitable lessons, risks are beyond our choices, at least our conscious choices. Life has to unbalance us in order for us to move forward.

We feel joy when we win. But the fear of losing robs you of the peace of conquest

If your mind is not set on all that you can lose, it cannot give you the peace of conquest. As long as there is the fear of losing the money you have earned, the house you have built, your job, your relationship, your health, the departure of a loved one to another sphere of existence, or some other evil, it is not possible to enjoy these achievements in true peace. Victories will be evident because they will seem fragile, scarce and superficial. Fragile because of the illusion of desiring eternity to the ephemeral things of the world; inconsistent because of the insistence on dominating what is outside of me and not mine in order to control it; superficial as any conquest that does not lead me to peace.

Accept that the things of the world are ephemeral, marvel at the immeasurable power you have to change your own life and enjoy the immaterial. The only ultimate conquests are in the baggage you carry with you on your journey to infinity. Everything else, however solid, melts into air. By understanding and accepting this, you can truly be at peace. No one will be able to take it out of your hands, it will be unbreakable in your heart.

Like the other plenitudes - happiness, dignity, freedom and love - peace is not with you, but within you. Peace does not depend on anything or anyone outside of you; peace is a way of seeing, being and living life. Peace is not found in a market or in a capsule of a medicine, it has nothing to do with your bank account or your position in a company, nor is it protected behind a high wall in a mansion. Peace is hidden in the gardens of your soul. As long as you continue to fight with yourself, keeping the ego's desires and the soul's needs in a constant inner struggle, peace will be far behind.

Fear is a shadow and, like other shadows, it is inherent to human nature

We all feel fear. The best and worst feelings are in everyone, the important thing is to know what to do with them. Learning defines and changes us. Just as we illuminate pride with humility, intimidate fear with hope, demolish it with courage, and transform it with faith, so too do we transform it with faith. For every shadow, there is always a lantern with at least one virtue. Hope does not come from naivety, courage does not have to be born from an act of excessive irrationality, nor does faith have to be blind. On the contrary, it is a consequence of the perfect wisdom of understanding how the universe works and where life is headed.

We will only perish in a storm if the crew rebels against the captain. Imagine you are a ship. The soul is at the helm, the ego is the crew made up of your shadows and virtues. During a storm, it depends on whether I have pride, vanity, jealousy, envy, gain, and selfishness on my side, all of which are driven by fear. Entonces el riesgo de desastre es alto. Pero si tengo como compañeros la humildad, la compasión, la honestidad, el valor, la fe y el amor, tendré un viaje muy diferente. The storm will be the same, but the navigation will not. Define the route, the next destination and create peace on the voyage.

Peace does not depend on a calm sea or heavy clouds on the horizon. The sea is just the sea; calm days, stormy days. Peace depends only on the crew the captain can trust to sail. Peace is a precious inner victory. I give it up when I am afraid of something or someone. The first step is to understand why certain situations and people arouse so much fear in me. To save that power, I have unnecessarily given it power over my life. To turn that fear around, I have to find the hope, courage and faith within myself.

Faith is the virtue that connects the part with the whole, without intermediaries, by understanding that the whole is in the part. After love, it is the virtue that has the greatest power. It is faith that maintains the link between the navigator and the signpost. It allows him to illuminate and protect to a greater extent. So much so that all the parts make up the whole inside me, and each one of them helps me in its own way to be different and better. When I allow myself this insight, faith becomes an indispensable navigational tool to stay on course and stay calm when the sea is rough.

No storm comes to destroy me, but to ennoble me. Peace is not the absence of storms, but the wisdom to navigate stormy waters with absolute calm.

Love, Johnny