The Power of Inner Calm: Living Fully in the Present

Inner calm is the key to unlocking your full potential, whether in your emotional well-being, your spiritual development, or your success in any area of life.

Each of us possesses a variety of traits that can be truly wonderful when utilized deliberately and thoughtfully. For example, being quick can be terrific in the right situation, but sometimes, patience is required. The wise person is not someone who is always quick or always calm, but who knows when to exercise each trait. 

Animals also have instincts- some are strong, some are cautious, some are aggressive. But humans have the ability to choose. When G-d created Adam, He included traits from all the animals, but gave us the one thing they lack- free will. This is the ability to stop, reflect, and decide how to act.

As the Mishnah says (Avot 5:20), “Be bold like a leopard, light like an eagle, swift like a deer, and strong like a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven.” We are expected to take all these inner traits and use them when appropriate- not automatically, but wisely.

This requires inner calm. When a person has inner peace, they are able to pause, assess a situation, and decide how best to respond. Without it, they are simply reacting (like an animal). Peace of mind allows a person to access the best of himself.

Rabbi Chaim Friedlander refers to the opposite of inner calm as “mental confusion.” When we are stuck in the past or obsessed with the future, or judge ourselves too harshly for yesterday or worry excessively about what’s to come- we are not truly present and not making the most of the now.

For example if someone sits down to study Torah but is stuck thinking, Yesterday I was lazy or mean or unmotivated, so what’s the point of trying today?, this mindset blocks growth. Instead of drawing on their current ability to rise, they become trapped by an outdated version of themselves.

Who you were yesterday can inform- but not define- who you can be today.

Sometimes it’s not the past but the future that distracts us. We get caught up in imagining, planning, or fearing what might be, and forget to live the moment we’re in. Technology amplifies this confusion with the constant notifications, messages, and digital chatter that pull our minds in every direction. We lose focus, and with it, our ability to choose wisely and live fully.

A person can physically be at home, at work, or in a study hall, but mentally be somewhere else entirely. Without inner calm, we lose our ability to focus, to choose, and to channel the right traits in the right moment. Without inner calm, we’re not living- we are reacting.

If you're raising a child, for example, and you're constantly comparing him to others, or obsessing over how things could have been, or might be someday, you're not truly present. You're stuck in your head instead of being engaged in the actual task at hand.

Of course it’s good to reflect on the past and plan for the future, but not at the cost of missing the present.

Being present, living the moment, and cultivating calm are not luxuries. They are how life is truly lived. Let’s live now- with clarity, focus, and peace.