It was six in the morning. I remember the place where it happened perfectly. It was an experience that lasted seconds, yet it's etched in my memory forever.

I was alone and entered the Mexico City airport to catch a flight to a city in the country for work. As I walked to the check-in counter, I suddenly had a sensation that was difficult to explain. It was as if a ray of light had come from my heart and connected with the universe. I felt a profound harmony, fulfillment, well-being, and peace with myself, with others, and with existence.

That was the first time I experienced it, and it was such a pleasurable experience that I've sought to experience it again ever since. While life occasionally presents us with unexpected experiences like this—for example, seeing our children or grandchildren happily playing in the garden; receiving a long, deep hug from the person we love most; or taking a pleasant morning walk surrounded by nature—we can create them at will.

The closest thing to happiness

As a former workaholic and adrenaline junkie, I've experienced many of the physical consequences of stress firsthand; I was even hospitalized as a result. I can say I know the unpleasant taste of inner disharmony. I also know that harmony is unstable and that it's something we must work on every day. That's why, in recent years, I've dedicated myself to in-depth research on the subject.

It's been a long time since that day when I first glimpsed that the feeling of harmony is the closest thing to happiness. However, today I know that those seconds of inner harmony, those sudden gifts of life, as I mentioned, can be reproduced at will and anywhere.

 What contributes to feeling at peace and in harmony?

I like the Sufi concept on this, which I find precious. For them, the primary reason for existence is simply to achieve peace. There can't be a god within you if you're not at peace, they tell us. It's that simple. However, how can we achieve it if we know that life seeks our development and, as such, presents us with various types of obstacles to overcome?

According to the Sufis, when we were born, God breathed peace and time into us. And if there's one thing the gods have in abundance, it's this resource of eternity, so sought after by humans, who tend to live with the element that most destroys peace: haste.

So, what makes a man feel at peace and calm is time. Time for yourself, time for love, time for family, time for work, time for fun, and time for your partner. Let's remember Nietzsche, who said that the most erotic thing you can give to a relationship is time. And the only way to extend this resource, to get the most out of it, is to be present in whatever we do.

Whatever you do, if you do it in time, you do it better.

Seen from a positive perspective, the satisfaction of a job well done is what makes us live in peace with ourselves. And I return to the Sufis who affirm that it does not matter whether the result of what you dedicated your time to is good or bad ₊, better, or worse; the important thing is that you know, in conscience, that you put your whole heart into it and gave it your all.

Valuing time is awakening, respecting, appreciating those minutes, hours, or days that never return. How common it is to have time and then waste it, doing nothing with it that satisfies us. However, with the right attitude toward our goals and by using time responsibly, we find that life gives us the opportunity to feel at peace. That is our choice.

This Sufi concept of peace is completely different from what we have learned in the Judeo-Christian tradition; it is possible that, behind a peaceful person, apathy may be the essence. However, in Sufism, this is not the case; it requires being proactive, working, and investing effort to achieve satisfaction. And it is from this satisfaction that the love for oneself emerges, which leads us to love ourselves, to be content, and, therefore, to feel at peace.

It's a fact that no one can live in peace if they're not satisfied with themselves. Those of us who have tasted the bitterness of inner disharmony know that dissatisfaction turns life into anti-life. Thus, in this state, everything we do will be an attempt to cover it up, to anesthetize it; and therefore, we will seek control, power, and, most likely, cause harm to others.

Podríamos concluir que la palabra “armonía” significa the activity of loveAnd to live in it, self-love comes first. Then, that love that comes from feeling satisfied, from being consistent, from having given your best. And finally, that appreciation of time, being present in everything we do, which transforms into the long-awaited peace.