Happy Friday Everyone! So let me reiterate the reason I am writing this blog in case you didn’t read my first post last Friday. I have started to write this blog to re-examine a lot of old beliefs that are largely responsible for the way we think. I have been doing this personally in my mind or through writing for several years now, however, this time around, I created this blog in case someone else may be interested in looking at things from a different perspective along with me.
So, here is the first belief that I am going to re-examine. By the way, I have come across this belief not just in my own life but have noticed this with a lot of other people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
Belief – Yeah, it’s great that I have this, this and this; however, I still don’t have that, that and that and so how is it that I can still be happy and peaceful if I don’t yet have that!
We all know what I am talking about if we have ever paid attention to our thinking. This is a belief that focuses on lack. Lack of anything that we think we should have today or didn’t have yesterday or don’t think we can have in the future. When our thinking is based on this belief, it feels like there is nothing to be grateful for in our lives and all around us in the world today. But isn’t this is a very painful way to live life especially because there is always something that you are going to be striving for in your life. There will always be something that you will want to achieve. And if you do not accept yourself and your life today and are not happy today, chances are you will never be happy! You will never be happy because in your mind you are attaching happiness with achieving something or may be being a certain way. But what I have understood from trying and achieving is that yes you will be happy once you have achieved, however, that achievement will bring along new challenges, new goals, new beginnings and you will be back where you started and will go through this process of waiting to be happy once again and again and again until you realize the Truth. And the truth is – unless you accept yourself and your life today and be grateful for it today, you may never be able to accept yourself and your life and be happy.
So, here is a different way to look at this belief which actually has two aspects. One is accepting who and where you are today and second is being thankful for it today. And if you are able to believe in one of the two aspects, you will automatically believe in the other because there is no way you can accept and not be grateful or be grateful and not accept. There is something that most spiritual teachers talk about which is – what you focus your attention on grows! So by that token, if you are thinking based on this old belief, and you are only focused on what’s lacking in your life, chances are that’s what will end up being the truth for your life. On the other hand, a belief of Acceptance and Gratitude for everything and everyone that you have in your life today, gratitude for all the situations, even the ones that you tagged as bad and painful, that you have faced in life so far because all of these situations, each and every single one of them has taught you something if you were open enough to learn from them. Gratitude for all the relationships that you have been in so far, gratitude for all the career success that you have had thus far. Gratitude for all the nice cars that you are driving today, the beautiful homes that you live in today, the amazing kids that you have today. Just be grateful because GRATITUDE CHANGES YOUR ATTITUDE! When we are grateful, we are focusing on love rather than fear. Love for all that we are and all that we have. And the feeling of being grateful is awesome! And just because we feel so awesome inside, we attract more of that awesomeness in our lives.
Here is an exercise that I came across a few years ago which has really helped me. When you wake up in the morning, simply count 5 things that you are most grateful for. And repeat that same exercise before going to bed at night and see the shift happen in front of your own eyes. For those of you who love to write, you can choose to write or you can also just count them mentally. Even though I try to practice this exercise every day, some days I just forget or just don’t feel like doing it other days. But that’s ok as long as you believe in the power of it and keep coming back to it!
Here is a little prayer that I wrote for myself and I say it whenever I feel very low. Hope it gives you a reason to write your own :)…And as always, you are more than welcome to leave a comment if you feel like leaving one. And until next Friday, live life 🙂
Dear God, Please give me the courage to accept myself fully, love myself unconditionally, trust myself completely and be myself fearlessly every single moment of my life…
