Quotes Tagged "life-lessons"

True enlightenment arrives the moment you understand the difference between your wants and your needs. When you awaken to this understanding, you will realize that Life has always been providing for you, caring for you, giving you all that you need. This is how you stop wanting anything, anymore and start living with what you have, with what is. This is how you learn to be happy despite your circumstances.

When someone chooses not to understand you, despite your best efforts, you may want to examine whether they are not getting what you are saying or if they simply don’t want to understand you. If it is the latter, Life is so much simpler for both of you – there is no need to invest any more time and energy in striving for that understanding. The brutal truth that you often fail to confront is the fact that someone who is keen not to understand you, perhaps never will, no matter how hard you try!

Life, at the end of the day, is a simple mindgame. This means, essentially, that you learn to control your thoughts, that you learn to be non-worrying, non-frustrated and non-suffering. Then, no matter what you are going through, you live a better, fuller, happy Life.

Failure is an event. A mere data point. You tried something. And it didn’t work out. But society makes it looks like a crime. The label of Failure that is pinned on you is far more burdensome than the act of failing itself. So, the simplest thing to do is to not let that label stick; peel it off and chuck it away! For the same reason, don’t take Success too seriously either. Life happens through you, not because of you! Your success is not your own doing; it is Life’s longing for expressing itself through you. And when you fail, it is Life’s way of teaching you more about itself, about the fact that Life, not you, is in control!

Understand a simple truth about Life: you have to go through what you have to go through! No amount of praying or wishing can change what you have to, and will, experience in Life. So, stop resisting anything that you dislike and are faced with. The role of a crisis is to make you stronger, wiser and, interestingly, happy. Look back at all that you have been through and you will find that you are better from your experiences. So, why be bitter about whatever’s happening to you now? Embrace your current reality, accept it as your new normal, and keep doing what you can possibly do each given day. Over time, you will find yourself soaked in equanimity, no matter how hard the going is!

Faith is not a ‘thing’ you have in an external God that you have been conditioned to worship. Faith is simply trusting the process of Life. You are because of Life, because you are alive. So, if you have been given this lifetime, in this human form, without your even asking to be born, trust that you will get all that you need and you will eventually reach where you must arrive. And until you see Life’s magic and beauty, until you realize that it is what it is, be Patient with the process of Life. Which is why, Faith and Patience are truly the most empowering keywords or philosophies in Life. When you have Faith and Patience, Life is beautiful, just the way it is!

Whatever it is, take it as it comes. This is surely never easy. But when you understand that you can’t win fighting Life, you will realize that this is the only option. So, going with the flow is not quite a spiritual or romantic, feel-good, concept as it is made out to be. It is an intelligent choice, driven by plain common sense, of doing what you possibly can in a given situation. When you awaken to this truth, you will be happy despite your circumstances.

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.

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!

You can learn a lot from your mistakes when you aren't busy denying them.

Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before.

What is your heart worth? What about your time? What holds your heart, holds your attention. What holds your attention, holds your time. What holds your time, holds your life. And if it's possessions that holds these things, It will demand it all.

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!

You have to be clear that, often times, in fact almost always, despite your best efforts, perfection and success may elude you. So, the only way to stay anchored, and at peace with yourself and with your world, is to embrace what is. If you tried hard, if you put in your best, just celebrate the process of trying, of doing your best…leave the results and outcomes to Life. You can never get a perfect 10! And what you have is what it is. When you embrace this idea and live your Life, you will never be keyed up over the outcomes. You will enjoy the process, above all. And that is the key to your Happiness!

Adulting is serious stuff. Yes, it is cool to be independent and getting to do your own thing. But with freedom comes responsibility. Where you are not just responsible for taking care of yourself or earning enough to pay your bills, but you are also responsible for facing Life and dealing with its upheavals and surprises. There are no right or wrong ways to face Life. Everyone has to do what they believe they have to do at a particular moment and keep going. Eventually, you will figure out why what happened to you was part of your own myth unfolding. So, if you are a young adult and are up against a wall, keep the faith and keep walking. Doors will always open, the path will always appear...

Dealing with toxic people is an art that can be learnt. Whether it is in a family, among friends or at the workplace, exercise a choice to establish and maintain clear contours of your relationship with such people. Define very clearly in your mind what about this person irks you. And draw the line there. The point is not whether others can get along with such people, the point is that you cannot suffer them. So, when others ask you to be “adjusting”, you must tell them why you can’t do this – that it affects your inner peace. Once you define and draw the boundaries clearly, barring the initial settling in issues, pretty soon, everyone will see value in your approach. Clearly, there’s no point sacrificing your Happiness for another’s behavior or your reluctance to call them out!