Finding inner peace is a journey, not a destination

Ivan Bjeković will promote his first book tomorrow evening in the KIC multimedia hall from 19 pm.

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Photo: Private archive
Photo: Private archive
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Montenegrin musician Ivan Bjekovic has taken a new step in his creative work. Namely, after the albums and numerous singles that he presented to the audience during his musical career, he decided to share with them some of his life experiences that he collected and described in his first book, "The Path of Inner Peace".

The promotion of his book is scheduled for tomorrow in the Multimedia Hall of the KIC Budo Tomović from 19 pm, and at the same time Ivan will talk about how he found it. Numerous obstacles, difficult situations did not discourage this Podgorica native, and thanks to passion and dedication, he overcame them. That is why the book “The Path of Inner Peace” is in a way his autobiography, and it is reminiscent of those that fall into the genre of popular psychology.

"Given the fact that there is an inexhaustible creative element within my being, which has so far appeared in the role of a musician, or singer-songwriter, I felt the need to share with the world my own experiences, trials and lessons that I have gone through in my life so far. These circumstances have shaped me through growing up and maturing. This time, I found my way of expressing myself in writing a book and in this way I decided to take a new step in my creative opus. Just as my path of maturation and search for peace continued, so too did this book change its form and content," Bjeković reveals in an interview with Vijesti how he came up with the idea to write a book. Originally, he says, he planned for it to be more extensive and to cover all these situations in detail.

Ivan Bjekovic
photo: Promo

"At one point, I thought it might be better to create a shorter and more digestible read in which everyone would be able to find a part of themselves, without completely drowning in the situations I would describe. In this way, I brought the work closer to everyone who is entering such research for the first time and who is encountering certain concepts, techniques or situations for the first time," the interviewee of Vijesti describes his book, adding that this book is a ticket to the path of inner exploration of one's own being.

"Writing the book was also an act of confronting oneself, a process without embellishing the truth, because I believe that strength lies precisely in that naked honesty. This book should not be a source of pity or admiration, but a source of words that can help someone recognize or find a way to overcome their challenges, to find answers to their unresolved questions," he believes, revealing what the first step in finding inner peace is and whether by writing this book he has found his own inner peace:

"As I already mentioned - honesty with yourself is the first necessary step. Facing your own thoughts, emotions, scars, conclusions... Without that facing, every attempt to find inner peace is just an illusion, a mirage of being wrapped up in your own egoism. Writing is a way for me to face various things, because the act of writing itself is very liberating. Paper endures everything, but it gives complete freedom to express all the emotions that a person subconsciously suppresses in the depths of their unrest. Finding inner peace is a journey, not a destination. That is a very important fact in achieving peace," he advises, and does not hide the fact that he himself is much closer to inner peace today than yesterday.

"But I still have a lot of things waiting for me in life, from which I will be able to learn even more. Whoever allows his ego to tell him that he has reached the ultimate goal is greatly mistaken. I received such a lesson from a teacher at the foot of the Himalayas, and I have confirmed it myself many times," he emphasizes.

Change is constant, so the journey to finding inner peace has changed the way he sees the world and himself.

"It is important to be aware of this journey throughout life and to accept that path. First of all, I have learned that everything is temporary, that good and bad situations are there for us to grow and learn from. I see the things I have experienced too personally with more understanding and acceptance of both sides of the circumstances. I cannot control all the situations that happen to me in life, but I can control my reactions to each circumstance. I do not see the world as a place of victories and defeats, but as a place of infinite lessons. Every day we have the opportunity to expand our horizons even more and in this way I allow my inner search to change me and for the way I see the world to be different, or more mature," says Bjeković.

Many will perhaps perceive parts of this book as advice, but it is difficult to share that today, when we all have our own opinions. Bjeković believes that the elements of this book should not be treated as advice, but as experiences.

"That definition is the essence - we all have similar experiences, but there are no two exactly the same in the world. That makes us unique, that makes our lives special, but through different experiences, we also form our reactions and thoughts. That's why I don't like to give advice in the classical sense, but to share my experience that someone may find useful for their situation. What helped me may not necessarily help others. This book can be a guide for someone, and a mirror for someone, in which they can find useful and warm words for their troubles," he points out.

He himself says in the book that "life has a limited shelf life", but that we shouldn't use that as an excuse for everything that happens to us in life, because sometimes we need to think about our actions and consequences in time.

"This fact should encourage us to live more consciously and make decisions more rationally. The transience of life can only be an excuse for missed opportunities and lessons, but it can also be a reminder of the importance of every moment we are given to breathe life. Freedom and responsibility at the same time, hand in hand," he emphasizes.

Bjeković's journey towards self-knowledge and maturation was not an easy one. During it, he learned life lessons and went through complicated stages. When asked what he himself learned from all this and whether he was ever tempted to repeat the same mistakes, lessons, and stages, he agrees:

“I learned that mistakes are an integral part of life, inevitable, just like unlearned lessons in school. However, I learned that there is always something useful to be learned from mistakes. In every mistake, I saw a part of victory the moment I understood the reasons why I made mistakes. I would return to some old mistakes, or lessons, thinking that I had overcome them, just when the ego was stronger than the perception of the truth. Each repetition of a mistake produced more painful experiences. Life serves us such situations until we learn the assigned lesson. It tests us until we learn what we need to. However, I want to emphasize that it is important not to judge ourselves, but to learn and grow through mistakes.”

Bjeković states in his book that he believed that if you want something hard enough, it will come true. However, no matter how much we sometimes project certain situations in our heads to end the way we want, sometimes it doesn't happen, and that's exactly what can be discouraging, and Bjeković himself struggled with such feelings and situations:

"We live in the space between desires and reality. Desires inspire us to work and create, to realize our dreams in a certain form. If there were no desire as one of the motives for existence, then life would lose its essential function. In dealing with disappointments, I went through painful experiences, because I was often not prepared for such an outcome. However, I learned not to perceive such circumstances as defeat, but to see in them an opportunity for a new direction. Failure lies only in surrender," advises the musician, and music is medicine for the soul for many. Being involved in the same thing has ennobled him, but also lifted him up at certain moments, giving him strength.

"Music has always been and will always be an outlet from everyday life, my escape to a special universe, but also a way of expressing myself. In moments of uncertainty and unrest, it gave me strength. It filled moments of joy with even more beautiful notes and compositions. I have never seen music as a job or a hobby, because it is the way I communicate with myself and the world," claims Bjeković, adding that music has taught him perseverance.

“If I had given in to disappointments and false projections, believing that there would be solid systemic and social support for creativity, I probably would never have created this book, nor would I be on the threshold of my second music album, which I will release by the end of this year. Art, be it writing or music, requires inner strength and unwavering faith in myself. That is why music is always an additional strength for me, more than just expression. It is proof that passion and dedication can overcome all obstacles and that creativity is always more valuable than waiting for ideal conditions,” concludes Bjeković.

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