What others think of you, or what they say or do to you, is their business; not yours! They have a right to their opinions. And you must just let them be. It is when you try to change their opinion of you that you grieve – and often suffer. Instead, be unmoved by their choices, their utterances, and just be true to yourself. You will then be fearless and unaffected by all that is happening around you.
Once you understand the power of meditation, you don’t even need to engage in it as a practice. You don’t need to then set aside a particular time of the day for meditation as an activity. In that state, you are that; you are meditative in everything that you do. There is a mindful, immersive quality to your Life then. Surely, debilitating emotions and disturbing thoughts will come calling, but your awareness, your mindfulness, helps you to not pick them up. You see them, you feel them, but you let them pass. This discerning ability to choose wisely is the biggest gift that meditation delivers. This is what helps you to be happy despite your circumstances.
I have been through highs and lows in this journey of life. I have experienced ecstatic happiness and utter sadness in my life. While undertaking this journey of life, I have come to the realization that we may not have everything in life, but still we can remain happy. We may have something missing in our life yet, we can achieve happiness. What is really important for us is to achieve a feeling of calm and peace! We can discover this feeling withing ourselves. And once we achieve this state of calm and peace within ourselves then this state will lead us to happiness!
Don’t wish that your Life is different from what it is now. This is how you invite suffering into your Life. What is happening to you has already arrived in your Life. You can’t wish it away, you can’t undo it, you can’t deny its presence. By asking why is something happening in your Life, you are resisting your current reality. That’s also why you are suffering. Instead, learn to be non-suffering by embracing what is. Being non-suffering is a personal choice, it holds the key to your Happiness!
When facing a Life-changing crisis, don’t expect your situation to turn around instantaneously. It won’t. So, prepare for the long haul. Nourish yourself. Meditate. Pray. Eat your meals on time and please eat healthy stuff. Exercise. Go for long walks. Goof off once in a while. Your being morose, or your worrying stiff, is not going to solve your problems. The situation will resolve only when the time arrives. Until that happens, you have to last, you have to survive. So, take care of yourself. Every moment. Every day.
When you start viewing another person’s Life and wonder “how’s it that they are having a good time when I am not?”, well then, you have invited suffering into your own Life! Be sure…1. You don’t know their story and don’t quite know if they are really having a ‘good’ time and 2. It’s their Life and another person’s Life is none of your business! Seriously. So, to be happy, stop comparing yourself with others. Period.
Grief is an important emotion. Don’t suppress it. Go through the process of grieving as long as you feel it is important and necessary for you to grieve. Don’t let people tell you that to grieve is being weak or being depressive. Hardly. Choose your own way of expressing your grief. If you must cry, cry. If you prefer being silent, be that way. But whatever you do, remember that grief when carried for too long in you becomes a burden. Then it begins to cause your suffering. So, at some point, hold up your grief and examine it. Is it serving any Purpose? Is the process of grieving comforting you or is it making you feel miserable? The moment you realize the futility of clinging on to grief, you will set it down. This will set you free. You will then be happy despite the circumstances.
Violent thought affects your inner peace and Happiness more than you can ever imagine. When you are on the street and you use an expletive to yell at an errant road user, that is violent thought. This tendency to think ill of someone, even if you have been provoked or wronged, has to cease. This is the ahimsa that Gandhi talked about. It wasn’t just about violent action being given up, it was also about violent thought ceasing. When you train your mind to be non-violent in thought, and of course action, that is when you will discover that you are the Happiness that you seek!