What Adds Peace & Fire?

We don’t have to wait for others to tell us what matters, we already know.

The other day I overheard someone talking about the books they choose to read, and they said, “I choose what adds peace or fire to my chest.” I wrote it down immediately and thought about it for days.

What adds peace or fire to my chest?

I love how this phrase bypasses thinking entirely and goes straight to the body. It’s not about what makes sense or sounds impressive, it’s fully somatic focusing entirely on what we feel. The tightness in the chest when something doesn’t sit right vs. the ease when something feels true. The numbness or the apathy vs. the heat from anger or a need for justice. Instead of chasing what’s sounds “smart” or what other people think is good, we go back to what the body already knows.

My peace in the chest today:
Rabbits.
Reading good writing.
People who are inspirational and optimistic.
Sitting outside.
People I love.
Driving the Jeep with the music up.
Texting and funny memes.
Brunches with my own pot of coffee on the table.
Writing.
Podcasting.
Watering flowers.
Yoga.
Iced tea.
Walks.
Lilac trees.

My fire in the chest today:
Perimenopause (literally).
Hypocritical behavior.
Lying and cowardice.
Gender inequality.
Greed.
Narcissists.
Loss of rights and autonomy.
Women excluded from medical research, leaving them misunderstood & without proper treatment.

I’m a big advocate for enjoying life. If you’ve been following my writing or Zen Parenting Radio, you know I talk about it all the time. But enjoyment and peace aren’t an escape from what’s difficult. They’re energy and fuel so we can stay present with what’s painful, unfair, or needs attention.

Both of these lists—the fire and the peace—they shift and change. What lights us up or calms us down one day might feel different the next, because we’re always learning, growing, unfolding. When we pay attention to what’s happening inside us, what we feel in our chest, we get direction. It helps us know how to spend our time, what to speak up about, and what to stand for. We don’t have to wait for someone else to tell us what matters. We can listen to our bodies and trust what we already know.