Suppose you are suffering from a lung infection without knowing and the condition worsens by the day. It gets harder to breathe but you deny a diagnosis of the disease. In fact, you go on to try your own random cures like drinking some herbal tea and taking more rest. Can you expect to get better like this?
The journey to any treatment starts with the diagnosis. Only when you are aware of the ailment can you treat it. And the same is the case with our emotional state. If we do not acknowledge our own negative state, we cannot make things better.
As you go on to spread warmth, you are taking on a heroic responsibility. While the act of smiling will usually keep you in a positive state, there will be times when you just don’t feel good. How do you get yourself going then?
Let us start with a philosophical perspective:
In Sanskrit, the word “Dukha” is used for suffering and non-satisfaction, usually considered as a flowing river. And it is our choice to be in the river or not. To suffer is to be in this river, where you flow with pain and there is no end in sight. On the other hand, if you decide to step outside, you can see the river, but you are no longer a part of it. The river flows without touching you.
The moment you step outside the river, you separate your pain from suffering. Pain is real, but suffering is your reaction to that pain. It is in your head, just an imagination. And we all know how great our brain is in imagination! Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, once said, “There are more things… likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”
Suffering feeds off our unconsciousness, like the weeds growing in a garden. While it might not always be easy to get rid of these mind weeds, you have to start somewhere. Without action, no change can be expected. And when it comes to suffering, the best starting action is always to step outside your own head. Realize that the world is still going on, the flowers are still blooming, the sun still rises, and life goes on.
If you feel anxious or agitated, breathe deep and slow, engage your senses with the surroundings, touch the bed, smell the surroundings, feel the place you are in, free of any labels. Things just are, neither good nor bad. And so are you. Your judgement of a situation is just your opinion, not the truth. A bad opinion only worsens your emotional state, then why hold on to it?
Let it go. Breathe it out, slowly. Just be…
Take some time to internalize this perspective. Does it fit a situation you sometimes find yourself in? What does it mean to you?
There is a lot more awaiting you on this Kosmik journey, but the true value of these powers lies in interconnecting them. As you learn more, try to merge the new skills with the old ones. For instance, to control your emotional state, try to merge this perspective of the “Dukha” river with:
Breathing,
Power moves (including smile),
Reducing noise in life, like the ones entering from social media, and
Asking the right questions like “What can I do?” instead of “Why did it happen to me?”
In life, we all have tough moments. In such times, when you are seeking strength to overcome the adversities, remember the great paradox: “To find your strength, you must act strong first.”
Shine on, you star 🌟