He was crying.
Hurt.

“𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕
𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏
𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕,” he said,
looking at me
with sadness in his eyes.

That’s a regret
he lived with
for years …
not having made peace
with others
because he did
not make peace
within himself.

It wasn’t long
after he said
those words…
he disappeared.

I never got
to see him
again.

I don’t know
what happened to him…
but those words he shared
still lived within me.

The question is…
do you live in peace?

Stop scrolling
and ask yourself
that for a minute….

Are you at peace
with others?

Sometimes…
we learn a lot from nature.

The calmness of the sea,
a quiet night,
the serenity of a morning,
with birds singing…

Those moments
remind us of the peace
we long for.

Then I think
of the words of James:
𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢?
𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒
𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢?

How true that is.
Often the struggles, fears,
anger, disappointments,
frustrations, and unrest within us
show up
in our interactions with others.

What is unresolved
in our hearts can spill over
into our relationships.

So…
before focusing
on what the other person has done,
let us first look deeply
within ourselves
and ask, “What is warring within me?
What unrest am I carrying?”

The battles
within us come first,
then we respond to others
better, in return,
with grace and peace.

As inner peace grows,
it becomes easier
to live at peace
with others.

The greatest lessons
nature teaches us
is that peace
on the outside
often begins with peace
on the inside.

We don’t have to
live with that regret.

Not now…
not ever.

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Author Bio
Dr. Ivan Edwards is a man who is comfortable wearing a few hats in life. A polymath, he is an ordained non-denominational minister, a medical doctor, a USAF flight surgeon (at the rank of Colonel), an entrepreneur and CEO, and a writer-poet.

His work explores healing, restoration, resilience, identity, and the strength of the human spirit shaped by faith.

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