Peace is a Practice, An invitation to Breathe deep and find a new rhythm for Life – Morgan Harper Nichols

Genre: Self awareness and mindfulness

Pages: 170 pages

Rating: 5 stars

I purposed to read more mindful books and I’m so glad Morgan released her book at this time of the year. I definitely love her poems and if you do too, this book is a must read. Morgan Harper Nichols is an artist, poet and musician who makes her work around people and their stories.

This is her 3^rd publication and it’s amazing how she weaves her story beautifully into intricate life lessons concerning being more mindful and choosing peace as a lifestyle.

‘Peace is a state of mind, heart, body and soul. It is the freedom to breathe even in the face of great challenges and chaos. Peace is the river in the desert, not on the other side of it.’

The book is divided into a continuous flow of sections that guide the reader on mindful decisions to choose peace through acquiring a rhythm, freedom, community, choosing conversation, journaling, rest, letting go and letting it out, trusting, growing, becoming and hope to mention but a few.

I love that even amidst the chaos of everyday life, we can still mindfully decide to choose peace through it all. We are allowed to feel deeply about things that have caused us pain, grief and heal at our own pace without conforming to what is societally acceptable.

The section that stood out for me the most as I read this book was the section on Silence under chapter 11. Morgan encourages her readers to embrace more silence in the sense of encouraging meditation, closing off the noise and also being present in conversations, being present for our loved ones who most times just need a listening ear. Silence is a form of mindfulness that allows a person to pace themselves and I realized we rarely allow ourselves to be silent and constantly let the continuous motion of everyday life get the best of us.

‘Peace doesn’t mean everything is perfect. Rather, peace means you are able to find your breath, to stay connected to your very life in the face of gritty realism. You are allowed to express your longing. Your needs. The shadows that linger in the room. You are free to say , “wait… this doesn’t sit right with me” even if you don’t know what the solution will be. You’re allowed to acknowledge that you’re experiencing discomfort, even if you struggle to find the right words for it. You’re permitted to call attention to what puts others in vulnerable positions even as you actively work to become educated on the best ways to help.’

What I loved most about this book is that Morgan challenges our thought pattern on the linear nature of life. Morgan posits that life is a cycle and we ought to embrace this cycle. The breaths we take, the inhales and exhale are all definitive of the cyclic nature of life. Therefore, when we fall or fail or get disappointed, we should allow ourselves the grace of knowing that it is a cycle and we can start all over again without putting so much pressure on ourselves to go to the next level. Setting boundaries to protect our spaces and knowing where to draw the line was another highlight in choosing peace as a practice.

I can definitely assure you that this book will help you take tiny steps towards choosing peace and choosing to be more present in the rhythm of life without unnecessary anxiety.

Let me know your thoughts on the book once you’ve read it.

Cheers.