One Way to Chase Eternal Joys And Serene Living
By Fiza Ameen
Writer of essay trove e-Books: Defog Your Focus, Life Waves Back, The Spectrum of Connections, and Passion, and 13 Nuances
One Way to Chase Eternal Joys And Serene Living
Broaden your perspective on life to live lightly?—?in a state of eternal bliss.
“No sky is heavy if the heart is light.” — Charles Churchill
From my earliest childhood, I had aquaphobia. As time went by, I learned to cope with phobic reactions, but even when splashes would frighten me, I felt a connection with water. I longed to be free of fear, just like the fresh air surrounding tranquil tides. Part of me wanted to feel the serenity of water.
What if we choose to live as lightly as serene water??
Rumi’s soulful poetry chimes in and rings true in almost every facet of life, but many of us struggle to experience the joy Rumi promised in his words:?
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” — Rumi
We often believe that following our passions wholeheartedly will lead to happiness. However, Rumi asks us to do the things our pure soul desires, which have nothing to do with our past, future, relationships, goals, or failures. For the soul, happiness is found by connecting with itself.
The eternal moments of happiness in my life, for example, weren't when I received love or accomplished something, and they weren't when I chased my passion. Instead, they were the little moments when I set aside my preconceived notions of human behavior and broadened my perspective.
When I practiced kindness in situations that would have otherwise tainted my thoughts, I embraced my soul.? I felt fulfilled when I let go of my perspective and explored obscure possibilities.?
“The perfection of human nature is sweetness and light.” — Matthew Arnold
Months ago, someone left an offensive comment on my post on a social media platform. As someone prone to overthinking, I chose not to actively engage on platforms where I have no control over the people I interact with.
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To live a clutter-free life, my soul urged me to practice kindness regardless of that person's emotional motive. Maybe my post triggered something (the negative thing) in them. Maybe I hadn’t made my point plain in a responsible way.? This was a healthy way to bury that negativity for good and free my soul from an invisible burden.
Instead, I ignored the comment, unknowingly allowing it to take root in my mind and heart. I had to prioritize my self-esteem, sacrificing the happiness of my soul.
That day, I realized how the surface of our self-esteem robs us of living a serene life, wasting our time and spiritual energy. It holds us captive in invisible prisons, restricting our growth.
This incident urged me to expand my limited perception. Initially, my thoughts were inclined to judge that person's behavior, weighing me down. To change the course of my thoughts, I needed to understand the reason behind the comment, even if it meant looking beyond my own perspective.
But due to my limited point of view, I couldn't find an obvious reason. The point is, there will always be barriers preventing us from embracing our souls and living a serene life. However, beyond those barriers lies an enlightened road.
I believe we no longer live in a world where every Tom, Dick, and Harry's opinion can influence our lives. We have learned to build walls around ourselves as a shield from provocation.?
Similarly, we have learned to draw a line between disagreement and conflict, although there are exceptions. "Agree to disagree" is a positive approach that many of us practice to live a comfortable life.?
However, there are non-provocative situations where people on both sides of a story can be right based on their limited perception. Sometimes we misunderstand others, and sometimes others get the wrong impression of our words. These little misunderstandings prevent us from living serenely.?
We accept only one side of the story and limit our perspective. In both of these situations, by sticking to our point of view, we search for eternal happiness in our world, even though the world has little to offer, as lasting changes always come from within ourselves.?
Broadening our perspective on life does not mean loving someone just for their cruelty. It does not, in any way, mean harming our self-respect. Nor does it mean changing our beliefs to agree with them or forcing ourselves to spend time with them. As Matshona Dhliwayo said,?
"If you know who you are, no one can convince you to be who you are not."?
It simply means improving the overall quality of life by adding more depth to our outlook. It means loving all our fellow humans regardless of their behavior in order to remain calm and free. It means ‘letting our soul stand cool and composed before a million universes’, as Walt Whitman said.?
#lifelessons #connectivity #productivity #spirituality #personalgrowth #lifewavesback