“You thought you were here to get stuff, prove yourself, and find people to love you. Instead you are here get peace, be yourself, and find people to love. You thought you were here to fix the world. Instead you are here to appreciate what is before you and see the world through new eyes.” – Alan Cohen

The Journey to True Peace

So often we get caught up in this wild race to collect achievements, possessions, and validation. We think that’s the whole game of life—get the promotion, buy the house, impress people enough that they’ll finally see our worth. But here’s the truth: you weren’t put here to accumulate stuff or to constantly prove yourself worthy. You were born to experience peace. Real, lasting, soul-deep peace that doesn’t depend on what you own or what others think of you. When you shift from chasing stuff to cultivating peace, everything changes. Suddenly, life isn’t a test you might fail—it’s an experience you get to have.

Many of us spend years wearing masks, trying to become what we think others want us to be. We exhaust ourselves shape-shifting and people-pleasing, hoping that if we just act right, someone will finally love us enough. But love doesn’t work that way, friend. The most beautiful gift you can give yourself and others is the courage to be authentically you—with all your quirks, vulnerabilities, and unique magic. And here’s the wonderful paradox: when you focus less on finding people to love you and more on finding people to genuinely love, connections deepen in ways you never imagined possible. Real love flows from giving, not from desperate attempts to receive.

We’re taught to see problems everywhere, aren’t we? The world seems broken, and somewhere along the way, many of us picked up the belief that fixing it all is our personal responsibility. We carry the weight of global issues on our shoulders, feeling guilty when we can’t solve everything. But what if that’s not actually your job? What if your task isn’t to fix the entire world but to fully show up for your small corner of it? There’s immense power in trading the burden of fixing everything for the practice of appreciating what’s right in front of you—the morning light, the friendly cashier, the taste of your coffee, the gift of another day.

When we’re stuck in our usual ways of seeing, we miss so much beauty. The same street you walk down every day contains countless miracles you’ve never noticed. The people you think you know completely still hold mysteries and gifts you haven’t discovered. Seeing the world through new eyes doesn’t require traveling to exotic places—it just means dropping your assumptions and approaching each moment with fresh curiosity. It means asking, “What if I don’t already know everything about this person, this situation, this challenge?” That simple question opens doors to wisdom that’s been waiting for you all along.

So breathe, and release the need to collect accolades and possessions. Let go of the exhausting work of trying to be someone else. Put down the weight of fixing everything that’s wrong. Instead, come home to yourself. Make peace your priority. Love freely without keeping score. Look at the ordinary wonders around you until they reveal themselves as extraordinary. This is the path to genuine fulfillment—not getting more, but being more present; not being loved by everyone, but loving deeply; not fixing the world, but changing how you see it. And in that shift of perspective lies all the magic you’ve been searching for.