In Search of Zen...

Ever since I've moved back to California from living overseas, I've been chasing Zen.  After 1 month I am still adjusting to the busy lifestyle that I once used to love.
Today I looked up the meaning of the word ZEN.  The dictionary said it was enlightenment by meditation in which there is no consciousness of self...
No matter where I go or what I do in life (regardless of circumstances) I want to live in peace.  Truly a zen lifestyle.  Sometimes I think about it and chase it too much.  It's like I'm trying to force peace to happen, when all I am required to do is stay present.  I'm learning to just be. 
In my quest for Zen; here are some words that have inspired me (from friends and wise guru's).  I hope they are encouragement to you:
 - "It's not good.  It's not bad.  It just is."
 - "There are two ways: One way is that you hustle and you swim and you go across. Or, you let things happen to you, and you are taken across in a luxury liner. It is up to you."
 - "If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are."
- "When the pupil is ready to learn, a teacher will appear."
Today I looked up the meaning of the word ZEN...