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Why Is Peace So Hard to Find in a Noisy World?

Why Is Peace So Hard to Find in a Noisy World?

Last updated on: July 1, 2026 at 6:42 pm by Benjamin Raven Pressley

Why Is Peace So Hard to Find in a Noisy World? 2026-07-01T18:42:17-04:00 Benjamin Raven Pressley

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Jesus said, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

So, Why Is Peace So Hard to Find? This verse literally implies he bequeaths his peace to us, as in leaving it to us as an inheritance. It is not something we have to work up, earn, shoot up, wind up, or pay up. Yet everywhere, believers and non-believers alike are crying out for peace of mind when what we really need is to know how to access it. We have got to be mindful of what Jesus has given to us. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). This verse speaks of being mindful. What are you mindful of? What do you spend your time thinking about? It takes training our minds in mindfulness, as it applies to what the Word of God says. Joshua was told, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8

Why is peace so hard to find in this noisy world?

Finding Peace in the Present: A Practical Guide to Mindfulness

Now, what is mindfulness?

Often, people hear that term and immediately associate it with Buddhism or Eastern philosophy. While it may be spoken of frequently there, mindfulness isn’t exclusive to any single religion. Any truth or practice that genuinely benefits humankind doesn’t belong to just one group. At its core, mindfulness has nothing to do with complex religious rituals; it is simply the ability to live fully in the present moment.

It might sound super-spiritual or out of reach, but getting to a place of inner peace is essential for our daily survival. We need to create a sanctuary within our own minds—a place we can access without having to visit a specific building or belong to a specific tradition.

The Battlefield of the Mind

We often allow our thoughts to defeat us. Our minds become completely inundated by everyday stress: How am I going to pay these bills? What’s going on with my kids? What if this problem at home doesn’t get resolved?

Our imaginations love to run wild. You know the feeling of sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for test results, and your mind immediately spirals to the absolute worst-case scenario. Thoughts flood in, and if we aren’t careful, they take over.

The battle of life is won or lost entirely in your mind. It all comes down to your perspective and the paradigm you choose to create.

You have to intentionally choose a perspective that benefits you and brings you peace, why not focus on what the Word of God says about you and your situation?

Practical Meditation: Setting Your Mind

Meditation is an incredibly helpful tool, and you don’t need to have an “out-of-body experience” to do it right. It can be incredibly practical. All through the Bible, we are told to meditate.

Psalm 19:14
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Psalm 119:15-16
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”

Here is a simple way to start:

Sit down every day and purposefully calm yourself.
Take three big, deep, calming breaths.
Close your eyes.
If it helps, listen to calming music or the sounds of nature.
Set a timer and try 15 minutes a day to start with. I know you hear about meditation masters meditating for hours, but that really isn’t necessary for the average person. There is even some evidence that meditating too long can actually do more harm than good.
It has also been proven that just getting outside, even just out on your deck, and not taking your phone with and just thinking of nothing, just feeling the sun on your face for 15 minutes will have a similar effect.

Meditation doesn’t have to be some mystical practice. Just take time to calm your mind and sit peacefully.

Ultimately, the goal is to carry this mindfulness with you wherever you go. Even meditation, in my opinion, should be able to be done even in a noisy environment. It teaches your mind to be in control of what it is focusing on. It teaches you to shut out things you don’t want to think about and focus only on the things you want to think about. Eventually you will discover you don’t necessarily need to sit and close your eyes (although it is good practice to do that several times a week.) Point being, you should be able to keep your mind in a place of peace whether you are walking down a trail, sitting in your living room, or driving down the road.

Isaiah 26:3
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

The scriptures talk about the importance of “setting your mind.” (Romans 8:6. Colossians 3:1) This means deciding in advance how you are going to react to a situation. Run scenarios through your mind ahead of time so that when a crisis hits, you don’t just impulsively react; you thoughtfully respond with peace.

The Difference Between Happiness and Joy

A crucial part of mindfulness is refusing to dwell too far in the past or the future. The past is gone—learn from it, but don’t live in it. It is meant to be a life lesson, not a life sentence.

Matthew 6:34
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

You also have to stop comparing your life to others. There will always be someone who seems better off, but there is also always someone dealing with much worse. I have friends living with MS or fighting cancer from wheelchairs who possess more genuine joy than some people with perfect health. Why? Because they have accepted their paradigm. They have accepted their situation and chosen to live life to the absolute fullest with what they have.

We often confuse happiness and joy, but they are very different:

Happiness is circumstantial. It dictates, “If I get this thing, or if this situation works out, then I will be happy.”
Joy has nothing to do with your circumstances. It is a profound, underlying peace that remains steady regardless of what is happening around you.

Psalm 16:11
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

If your joy is based on how much you have, you will drive yourself crazy constantly thinking about what you don’t have. Practice gratitude for where you are right now and for what you have. Be thankful for a heart that beats, eyes that see, lungs that breathe, a bed to sleep in, a roof over your head, clothing on your back…everyone doesn’t have these things, don’t take what you have for granted. My brother used to say “I complained about having no shoes, till I saw a man with no feet.”

Finding Simplicity in a Noisy World

Over the years, I’ve realized I don’t need a lot of material things to be content. When there were places I wanted to go or things I wanted to do that I couldn’t afford, I simply found a different way. My wife and I decided to live on the road and travel for two years. We lived in a tent and a small pop-up RV camper. Before we left, we deliberately gave away a lot of things and took only what we needed to live on the road. We were amazed at how little we actually needed to get by with. We traveled and had some of the most memorable experiences we ever had in our lives. Apostle Paul said he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in (Philippians 4:11). Amen. That is a great way to live. I read a book long ago that really stuck with me called ‘Simplify Your Life’ by Elaine St. James. Here in America, we live in a prosperous nation and often surround ourselves with so many creature comforts that we think we can’t live without them, but this book brought out some good points. Do we really need two or more cars? Two or more cars mean twice the insurance, tires and upkeep. Do we really need a big house? More stuff means we need more money, which means we will have to work twice as much, and if we have kids, that means we will have to put them in an expensive daycare where they will get sick twice as much because they are exposed to other snotty-nosed kids and you will have twice the doctor bills. Not to mention you won’t have time to spend with your kids and your kids will be exposed to philosophies that may cause behavioral problems later. What if one of the parents stayed home with the kids and one worked and you learned to live within your means? See what I mean? It can become a crazy rat race before you realize it.

This is probably one of the reasons why I gravitated toward survival and primitive skills back in the 1980s. I realized that everything I needed to practice those skills was already out in the woods. I didn’t need to buy expensive gear, cars, or motorcycles to find fulfillment. There is incredible freedom in simplicity.

We live in a digital age where we are constantly assaulted by media and commercials telling us what is “normal.” Society pushes the idea that having endless material goods and doing whatever you want without consequence is the ultimate goal. I have heard it summarized laughingly, “He that dies with the most toys wins.’ But that isn’t so funny when you think about it. I doubt anyone on their deathbed wishes they had more stuff. What they do value is the experiences they had in life and regret for having worked so much that they missed out on meaningful experiences. This mindset for material gain above everything else is creating a culture maddened by stress and violence. We have to purposefully engage life and appreciate the simple things and learn to tune out the noise and culture that is shaping us. Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers wrote a song recorded by Cody Johnson and also by Kid Rock called ‘Till You Can’t’ that will make you think about how we take so much of our lives for granted and making the point about the meaningful things we put off until one day the opportunity has passed, things we wished we would have done till one day it has passed and we can’t.

“If you got a chance, take it. Take it while you got a chance. If you got a dream, chase it. Cuz a dream won’t chase you back. If you’re going to love somebody, Hold them as long and as strong and as close as you can. Til you can’t.”—Til You Can’t by Ben Stennis and Matt Rogers

The Balance of Life

Finally, you have to practice self-acceptance, but with a healthy balance.

If you don’t like yourself, no one else is going to like you either. You will walk around grumpy, carrying a chip on your shoulder, believing the world owes you a living. On the flip side, while you are absolutely unique, don’t elevate yourself to the point of arrogance. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike; good and bad things happen to all of us.

Matthew 5:45
“For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

I like the philosophy that there should be a balance of darkness and light. I love this concept because it doesn’t deny that darkness exists; instead, it teaches us to balance it out. You can actually take dark, negative energies and channel them into positive action. For example, the Bible teaches us to be angry but to sin not (Ephesians 4:26). It is all energy. When it is channeled correctly, it accomplishes good; if not, it does harm. For example, instead of letting fear beat you down, you can channel it into extraordinary courage.

2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

You are in control of your mind. But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen naturally—the world will constantly try to tear you down and tell you that you aren’t enough—but with willful practice, you can master your thoughts. Clear your mind, walk in peace, and recognize your own worth. The stronger your mind becomes, the more peace you will experience. We are spiritual beings that have a soul that lives in a body. Human beings are capable of deeper thinking, enlightened thinking, and understanding that cannot be tested in a laboratory. Our spirit is crying out that we are so much more than our five senses and when we ignore it, we get the ills of society. Take time in every situation to look a little deeper, think a little deeper, to be still and to listen for that still small voice that challenges us not to react the way we initially may want to. Deep calls to deep. It is in stillness that we find God and true peace. Don’t settle for less.

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God.

Thoughts On Mindfulness
Some thoughts to ponder to help you enter into a state of peace and mindfulness
By Benjamin Raven Pressley

Have you ever known a moment where you spoke no words, laughter and tears, excitement and peace all together at one time? Refreshed beyond what any mere sleep could give, living in a moment that can only be described as a dream within a dream and yet not want this moment to ever end. Yet along with this moment, you also felt its destiny before you and though you had no clue at this moment where it would take you, you were confident that there would be a lamp for your feet and a light upon your path as it opened before you and you anticipated the days ahead with a great joy and an intensity like something between pain, fulfillment and destiny.

It is out in the wild where I feel most alive. It is out there that I can feel the energy of all creation and feel the Creator’s blood as it pumps through every living thing I touch, for he has truly connected all things. His breath is in the wind. His embrace is felt in the warmth of the sun as it shines upon us. His heartbeat is one with ours as our feet walk upon the surface of Earth, like the beating upon the skin of a drum. We see his smile in the night when the moon is in its final phase. He waves at us from the wings of the eagle and the dove. He sings to us from every babbling brook and the wind in the trees and the crackling of the fire. His blood flows through ours as we feed upon the food he has given from his own hand. And he loves us through that one special one that he sends into our lives. It is because of his gift of love that we are one with each other and one with the Creator and all living things.

Can there be a moment so intense it is as if all energy, all perception becomes one? A moment when there is seemingly no distinction of present or past or future, of time or space, even darkness or light. All your senses meld into one intense sensitivity with no limitation. Is there a place we so meld into the mind of God that we see things with such clarity and have no need to label or identify anything? Just clarity, clear understanding of all things. Perhaps it was a waking moment when you woke to absolute peace with no thoughts and no agendas or demands of the day were rushing in and you just lay there and smiled. Have you ever known a moment such as this? Could it be this very moment that you stand in now?

Have you ever felt such a deep feeling of hope and could not explain it? Have you ever felt like something great was about to happen and maybe didn’t even know what it was, but somehow didn’t care? Have you ever felt you had the answer yet could not verbalize it? You just knew that you knew that you knew?

Tomorrow is a gift given to us as we sleep, but by the time we open our eyes to receive it, it is today. We must treasure every moment and every realm and trust that where we are is where we need to be.

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About Benjamin Raven Pressley

Benjamin Raven Pressley is an author, teacher and spiritual guide. He is of Cherokee heritage. He has been a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles since 1975. His independent studies include the Holy Bible as well as other holy books of other religions. He is ordained by the Universal Life Church. He is a self-taught naturalist and his love and respect for nature is evident in many of the things he writes. He has authored several books on spirituality as well as a fantasy series and books on survival skills. He does not consider himself to be a religious person but believes true spirituality is an all-encompassing view of life and invites open discussion on matters of spirituality. You can read more about the author here.

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