The Most Convenient Place

The heart of every human being requires peace. It doesn't matter what their culture, religion, or politics may be, everyone on the face of this earth wants to have peace.

Maybe on the outside, the color of our skin is different, or our faces don't look alike. But lift the skin, and instantly the difference disappears. It could be anyone from any culture, any religion, any background. The difference is this extremely thin layer of epidermis. What we perceive as differences in people are, in fact, similarities, because ultimately everyone is looking for peace, for fulfillment, for joy—for the ultimate satisfaction in their life.

In this journey of life, it doesn't matter where we are, the wants are the same. Even though so much has changed in my life, nothing has changed. I have the same thirst for the same joy, for the same satisfaction, for the same contentment, that I have always had.

I want to open my eyes and admire the beauty of my existence, the simplicity of the being that I am, because it is here that the unfolding of the most magnificent is taking place. I want to play the instrument of life that has been given to me and hear what sounds it produces.

So many people listen to me, hoping I'll give them something magical—a word they can speak and suddenly their car that hasn't started for 15 years will start. It isn't a coincidence that the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp is told in every culture in its own way. How wonderful it would be if we could just rub a lamp, a genie would appear, we could say, "Do this," and it would be done.

But I tell people: You have something more than a genie in a bottle because you have a peace that is dancing on the stage of your heart, a joy waiting to embrace you. The ultimate wish has been fulfilled, because that ultimate wish is for peace, for joy. If you look at your existence, this has already taken place. I'm talking about a peace that is not just an absence of war, but is a state of being.

If we could only understand what we have been given, our thirst could truly be fulfilled. The message, "What you are looking for is within you," is a very old message. So many have said that. Look through the eyes of simplicity, not complication. Life is fascinating because of its simplicity, not because of its complexity.

When it comes to peace, people say, "Just sit down and think beautiful thoughts. That's all you need." What if you are hungry and go to a restaurant and order food, and the waiter says, "You don't need to actually eat anything. Just think of the most exquisite dishes you'd like, and your hunger will go away"? No, we have to be practical.

We need to feel peace every single day. And if we want to feel peace, we can turn within. We need air, and air has been supplied. We need peace, and peace has been supplied. We need joy, and joy has been supplied. And peace and joy are in the most convenient place possible: within us, wherever we go.