A turtle with a mustache
Kit Lan Lo“Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache. You won’t be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.”
— Ajahn Chah
In my private practice, I’ve seen many clients who are, in their own ways, searching for a turtle with a mustache:
- A 60-year-old man still seeking approval from his long-deceased, critical parents.
- A depressed wife, worn down by a difficult marriage, still hoping her husband will change into the person she wants him to be.
- A controlling mother, upset that her adult son has moved away and is living his own life.
Each of them is chasing peace in the wrong place—trying to change others, rewrite the past, or control the uncontrollable. But peace, as Ajahn Chah reminds us, only comes when the heart is ready to receive it.