My dear daughter,
“In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” – Isaiah 30:15
We are all prone to react to how people behave towards us. Pause for a moment and think: what will your life be like if you just stop reacting, calm down, take a deep breath before pursuing any action or saying anything based on how people behave or speak to you. Calmness is a golden quality to acquire. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps one’s mind clear and heart at peace.
Given the cacophony of daily life, it seems that oftentimes chaos surrounds one in every imaginable direction. It may be a mad world on the outside, but we should strive to ensure that we are calm within our being.
This inner calm and peace can be achieved if we can be conscious witnesses of our thoughts. At any given moment in our lives, our thoughts are going in many and different directions. Take a moment to reflect on this. When we are thinking of something, in particular, we find that our minds/thoughts go all over the place, not necessarily on the specific subject we are focusing our thoughts on. One must, therefore, make the needed effort to take a hold of one’s thought process for one’s inner peace.
Sit quietly and witness the thoughts passing through you. Just witnessing at first, not interfering or judging – just witness. It takes a little time to create a gap between the witnessing of thoughts and your reaction to them. Once the gap is there, you will come to the realisation that you are neither the thoughts nor the confusion influencing them. If you can achieve being a witness, you can rise above the confusion and the turmoil going on in there.
And this process of thought watching is the very transformation of true mindfulness. Because as you become more deeply rooted in witnessing, the chaotic thoughts start disappearing. Thus, when you are thinking, your mind is empty of senseless chatter. When you achieve this mastery, you become unconditioned – a calm and truly free human being.
So, let go of those annoyances and grievances that you are harbouring, that is disturbing your ability to be at peace. Be conscious and mindful so that you are able to notice those things that irritate or frustrate you and let them go instead of letting them get to you. By doing this, you will experience the freedom of being in control of the way you feel. And realise that you can extend this same level of control to every situation you encounter in life.
My dear, it is very important to come to the realisation that at any given moment, the way you feel is the way you choose to feel, and the way you react is the way you choose to react.
Stay conscious, stay focused, be mindful – take hold of your thoughts and have your peace of mind.
Love you always.
Dad