the kingdom of God...

The sea of life is in constant motion, no one can stop its ever-moving waves.
The Master walks over the waves, the wise man swims in the water, but the
ignorant man is drowned in his effort to cross.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

It makes no difference to me if I am so praised that I am raised from earth to
heaven, nor if I am so blamed that I am thrown from the greatest heights to the
depths of the earth. Life to me is an ever-moving sea in which the waves of
favor and disfavor constantly rise and fall.

To attain peace, what one has to do is to seek that rhythm which is in the depth
of our being. It is just like the sea: the surface of the sea is ever moving;
the depth of the sea is still.

And so it is with our life. If our life is thrown
into the sea of activity, it is on the surface. We still live in the profound
depths, in that peace.

But the thing is to become conscious of that peace which
can be found within ourselves. It is this which can bring us the answer to all
our problems.

If not, when we want to solve one problem, there is another
difficult problem coming. There is no end to our problems. There is no end to
the difficulties of the outer life. And if we get excited over them, we shall
never be able to solve them.

Some think, 'We might wait. Perhaps the conditions
will become better. We shall see then what to do.' But when will the conditions
become better? They will become still worse!

Whether the conditions become
better or worse, the first thing is to seek the kingdom of God within ourselves,
in which there is our peace.

As soon as we have found that, we have found our
support, we have found our self.

And in spite of all the activity and movement
on the surface, we shall be able to keep that peace undisturbed if only we hold
it fast by becoming conscious of it.