In both our personal and professional lives, there comes a certain age when we slowly begin to understand that not every battle is meant for us to fight. Over time, I’ve started reminding myself of that. The motto is simple: don’t give stress, don’t take stress. It sounds uncomplicated, almost obvious, yet it took me years to truly understand what it meant in practice.
There’s a Hindi saying — “Chup rehna bhi ek shikayat hai.” I’ve always felt it can be interpreted in more than one way. Sometimes, silence itself can be a quiet expression of discontent. At other times, even when you remain silent, people find reasons to complain about you. Either way, silence carries its own weight.
Sometimes, choosing peace means being on the sidelines and keeping quiet
With age and stability comes the ability to appreciate being on the sidelines rather than always at the center. From a little distance, you can enjoy the game, witness the drama and once it’s over, quietly return to your own world and continue doing your thing.
For years, I tried to live this way but could never fully follow through. Only in the last few years have I truly learned how to distance myself from things that may affect me negatively. I say may because I’ve realised that much of what we feel comes from our own perceptions. It isn’t always fair to blame others. They may simply be acting from their own point of view.
This change didn’t happen because of a single event, nor because of marriage or any external shift. It came from slowly understanding what companionship and emotional safety really mean. Real connection doesn’t come from constant arguments, comparisons or pulling each other down. It comes from protecting each other’s peace. For us, peace of mind has become a shared priority and sometimes that means choosing to stay unaware of unnecessary noise and simply living life in our own quiet way. And even as life has changed, there are still friends who care deeply for me (now for us) and whom we care about just as much.
Sometimes, choosing peace means letting things be
There are situations and relationships that you cannot fully ignore, yet you cannot comfortably be alongside either. These are delicate paths. Often, what you do in such moments shapes what happens later. You may want to avoid confrontation entirely, but certain ties make that impossible. While walking away can sometimes be the easiest solution and the right one, it shouldn’t always be the first instinct. Before stepping back, it helps to try once, if only to know that you did what you could.
Sometimes, choosing peace also means learning from discomfort
There are phases when being around difficult people teaches you more than being around easy people. When you must think before you speak, act cautiously and weigh your responses, you become more aware of yourself. In contrast, when you’re surrounded only by easygoing, agreeable people, you tend to relax completely. You assume nothing will go wrong and so you rarely pause to reflect or grow. Difficult interactions, though exhausting, can quietly shape wisdom.
That’s true. Apt and perfect 👍