How do we really know when one's smile is genuine, accompanied by a feeling of content?
It comes from within the self, the mind. The true reason to joy does not come mainly from what we see, hear, taste and feel. What is life? Ever wondered what in the world am I doing on Earth? Most people think life is all about achieving goals, being successful, getting married, enjoyment, having assets and etc. So, is life just about growing old, being successful in career, getting married, being rich, enjoy retirement and then die? We would come across these things in life but is that enough? Are all these things going to fulfill our function as humans? Deep inside, we all want to make good use of life, this ever sublime gift, being alive itself is the best contentment one could ever gain. We're given an intelligent mind which is easily attainable but one whose life that is rightly & well-lived is the wise mind; the greatest treasure throughout life's journey. Wisdom is an everyday process.
"Learn as if you'll live forever and Live as if you're gonna die tomorrow" This indeed is the true purpose of life. Allowing life just to unfold by itself.
EVERYTHING COMES AND GOES AWAY
Time is kind enough to us. It gives us the Present Moment. It opens up chances for us to value it as much as we could. Most of us always ask in the mind "What if this happens? What if I lose this? What if ...Why must this happen to me? I don't deserve this...etc" All these are making us NOT living in the present moment. Although we are in the moment but the mind is not. Everything tends to shift towards the fear of the future or the remorse of the past. Well yeah these are inevitable but we can train our minds to learn and understand the impermanence of life. Welcome every single up and down agendas in life. Good or bad, right or wrong. Both are very fine values in life. Be like a monk who can even smile in darkness. This is a skill to be attained. Same goes to happiness.. It's a skill that your mind is capable of. Discover this sublime gift of life and if this is the only one thing we know of, life itself and being alive itself is more than enough, more than perfect. With gratitude & contentment alone, life can become fulfilling. First, ignorance must be less and awareness to the world must grow.
If you put hand prints on the sand, it will fade away by the wind. If you have every material thing in the world, they surely wouldn't last for long. When we have access to a comfortable life, we should always be more than grateful. If we are rich but still complain for more or dissatisfied with the things we have, what is the point anyway? So, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, old or young, just take them in. Embrace them. Appreciate all we have regardless of good or bad. If one can do that, life itself becomes a challenge not a problem. The richest man in this world does not mean that he is the happiest man in the world though. Plus, the richest man is the most generous one while the poorest man is the most stingy one. Give more than we receive. If life is all about giving with unconditional positive regard, worries become less as we do not hold on to expectations. When we love, we love unconditionally.. for the people around us, the world.. so by giving our love outside, it is the way we loves ourselves. Most people become upset with their lives because they always expect to receive but never likely to give. Then, life for them becomes unstable, overwhelmed by drastic emotions. Why? because life's not perfect. We don't always get what we want and of course in logical sense, expecting others to please us makes life very worrisome. Some people may please us but when they don't tend to please us anymore, we would be overwhelmed by negative emotions. Again, life becomes unstable. Stability in life comes from being independent of the mind itself, the ultimate and the only mirror to life. Become the Niccolo Machiavelli of your lives. You paint your own view of life. Everything is so abstract and that is why discovering life's beauty is literary. It's not fun but it gives joy and serenity.
Life events are definitely unstable but the mind's stability can make one perceive change as welcoming and fulfilling. Why? Because lessons are learnt. Lessons are most learnt from change. Through this, it is the process of attaining wisdom. As Socrates mentioned, wisdom or the perfection of the soul is unattainable but it doesn't mean that trying to attain it is meaningless. Instead, it is the best thing a man can do in his life. Yes, I totally agree to that. Until we die, or at the brink of death, when we would ponder how great our life was, we wouldn't take it as greatness but as something more than grateful. Death is not something to fear of when one has lived his life with meaning and gratitude. :)
Life is like the movies. One moment passes by and another one comes.. Life is an illusion, a dream. Not literally but well, metaphorically. Why do people have to open their eyes so widely at all the things in life when we know that death will haunt them one day? In simple terms, it means that we tend to get so overwhelmed with the material things and enjoyment in this world but when we die, we have to leave them behind. Cravings for things in life lead to pointlessness and sufferings at the end of the day. Time is precious as we know so when we crave hard for something, a period of time in our lives is just thrown into the sea. Time never stops and we cannot get time back, no extra time. Most people lead their lives like they are not going to die one day so life for them becomes, one that is blind. We do not know when we will die. Hence again, "Learn as if you'll live forever and Live as if you're gonna die tomorrow".
If we are going through goodness in life now, it's something more than one could get. Appreciate what has come to our lives at the moment because we know it will be gone soon. It becomes a blessing. When we are experiencing difficulties, we know that it's not the end. During the process, it's a blessing too. It's one blessing in disguise. What we ought to do is to see through the darkness in search for light, that is hope. ;) Each day, we learn, we have a chance to be mentally stronger, we take chances, we become wiser, we move forward, we take the past as goodness for the present and future, we live basically a simple life. Simplicity is contentment. Contentment then comes to happiness. Life is the game of the body, mind and soul. Nothing is specific and certain. But everything is best done through the middle way. Mediation is when the wise mind works.
All the best in life.
Remember to stand up when you fall.
When you fall, you choose to stand or continue falling.
It may be hard to stand right away but there is no rush.
At least you know you have to and want to stand up is worth it.
But always keep up with it, turning back halfway because you may find it hard is not a good reason.
Keep holding on, keep up with the optimism.
With metta,
Michelle Tan :)
