The expression “peace of mind” is often used. People in general seem to think that this applies only to the mental and spiritual aspects of life, but that is a big mistake. “Piece of mind” in its truest sense should include the material side, too.

Just stop and think! If a person experiences even one of the three misfortunes of disease, poverty and conflict, how can he have true peace of mind? An individual can attain this only when he has enough self-confidence to state, “For the rest of my life I will have no worry of becoming ill, of being poor, of causing any conflict.” However, being completely free from these three worries must simply be a dream in this present world. I would think that almost no one living today has that much self-confidence and peace of mind.

As you see by looking around, nothing seems to go as well as anyone expects; unpleasant things happened one after another; good things rarely come about. Really, this world is like hell itself. First of all, think about our health. There is no way of knowing when we might become ill. A simple cold may not be cured quickly. It may become more complicated; it may even be a sign of some more serious disease, so we cannot take even a simple coldl ightly. Germs are everywhere around us, according to medical science, so we don't know when we may be struck by some contagious disease such as tuberculosis. It is for this reason that authorities give us too many detailed instructions regarding health and sanitation, such as: Keep clean; do not eat or drink too much; gargle after returning home; wash hands before meals; be careful about what is eaten; and so forth. If we were to follow all of these admonitions and instructions constantly, modern living would be like trying to make our way through a blizzard of fear.

Strife as well as poverty is mainly related to monetary problems, whose basic cause is the unbalanced state of the spiritual and physical beings of the individuals involved. Therefore, unless we maintain sound minds and sound bodies, we cannot have complete peace of mind. People in general may be thinking that this is sheer impossibility, but if it were possible wouldn't that be great news? I hereby assure you positively that it is utterly possible.