You know you can’t live somebody else’s life no matter how hard you try.
So give it up and live your Life freely.
You are bound to succeed and even have fun at the end and thus reach the highest you could ever reach… unhindered.
And I promise you’ll reach the sky — No less.
And if we can meet up and help you, along the way — we’ll be there for you, because that is ultimately the meaning of Life. Good Service to others.
And here might be a few good tools to help you like water to clench your thirst in the desert.
These tools are helpful in any situation that would be probably arise in your changing course of your Life and you can simply remember them and use them when you need to act — not react — correctly…
First comes Wonder. Wonderment like you see in the eyes of a child every time they learn something new. Approach Life like this and you shall not want for nothing.
Wonder is a powerful emotion, and one that tends to be underutilized as we get older. As a child, we’re wide open, egoless and seeking to know more. As adults, we sometimes get smug with our sliver of knowledge and think there’s little left to be discovered.
Since the amount of information out there is infinite, regardless of how much wisdom and experience you’ve acquired up to this point, there’s an infinite amount left.
Wonder will take you out of the moment of whatever you’re stuck in and put you in an elevated state. In fact, wonder’s the opposite of being stuck, since by definition, you’re taking the point of view of an observer. When you’re the witness, you’re not stuck — you’re free to see things as they are.
So take a moment to look up at the stars and notice how the light that’s hitting your retina today probably left that tiny dot while dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Or how every second of your existence, trillions of cells are working together in harmony to keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing, and your brains reading this article.
Take a closer look at a single leaf, or a butterfly, or a glass of water. Behold the miracle of a young child, and remember how you
were that miracle. And are that miracle today.
All of this should make you feel pretty good, and maybe a little humble. Which brings us to the next explorer’s tool: Humility
“Do not let me hear of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility, because humility is endless.” wrote T. S. Elliot in one of his beloved poems.
It is true because you can never go wrong with humility. Especially after looking at those stars in the Universe. So brilliant, so many and so far. They’re big and awesome. There are so many of them you can’t ever ever count them. Our whole beautiful blue green planet is just a speck of dust in comparison. Those affirmations may seem like cliches, but they’re also eternal truths. So keep on looking at the stars and see the future and the past, because they have seen everything and have been around forever.
And then, there are those other stars in our world. Those brilliant lights on a human scale. People like you and me. People who lived their lives giving off their light illuminating other people’s path. Folks like Socrates and Plato, Jesus and Buddha, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and your Mother, and scores of great scientists, legions of doctors, worthy global and regional and local leaders and wondrous artists make us realize how much more each of us can contribute to our world.
It’s also humbling to realize how much grace and beneficence has been bestowed on us already. Now that many of my friends have small children, I can better appreciate the staggering amount of work that goes into raising rambunctious little handfuls — which we all were at some point. It may be a good time to call your parents and just say, “Wow, I had no idea — you guys are
amazing.” A little thank you goes a long way. Which reminds me of Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most potent ways to change your mood in the short term and enrich your life in the long term. Expressing gratitude just feels good, pure and simple.
Right now as you’re reading this, chances are that you’re not in the midst of famine or war. You’re probably in decent health, and we’re guessing that you sleep somewhere safe and dry at night, with minimal chance of getting mauled by wild animals. You probably aren’t living in the horn of Africa suffering from a terrible drought and you can’t even think what it’s like living in Afghanistan, Yemen, Darfur, Iraq or in the rest of the war zones. If you’ve seen the X-factor paraplegic kid from Iraq singing John Lennon’s song “Imagine” you know what am talking about. All our petty problems are pathetic by comparison. And just living in peace, being fairly healthy and reasonably happy is certainly worth gratitude.
And a good practice is to just say Thank You. Just say Thank You to all the people around you. Being polite helps you go further and certainly makes life easier. And if you want to remember what you are grateful for, you can make a daily list of what you’re grateful for and say thank you quietly. Start with one thing a day, then build to three, maybe even five important things, you might be grateful for in your daily Life. You’ll be amazed at how many things you’ll find to be Thankful for: For your friends, your family, the daily food, your freedom, your capacity to participate in fun activities, and your obvious physical and mental health. These are just a start…
And as you may have noticed, these emotions tie into each other. Gratitude often makes you feel humble, which can lead to wonder at how it all comes together, which in turn brings on more gratitude, and so on. A positive feedback loop of positive emotions gets generated.
Some believe that the next emotion is the most potent of them all and so it is because Compassion is the strongest force in our human spirit.
Maybe somebody did you wrong… Well, these things happen. Now, if you were to focus on the plight of poor little you and how anyone could be so cruel to do you wrong, you’d probably just feel worse.
Why compound the insult with injury, I say. A much better idea is to shift your perspective and think: why would this other person behave this way? What could have happened to warrant this behavior? Remember that most people, no matter how big and adult they look, are just injured little children inside. So have compassion for that little child. There is no one so high or so low in this world who does not deserve your compassion.
And, above all, have compassion for yourself. We all screw up from time to time. It’s pretty much the definition of being human. So go easy on you, and refrain from the popular pastime of self-blame and the ensuing misery. Putting yourself down is actually just a twisted form of self-importance and attention-seeking, so get over yourself. Acknowledge what happened, have a little chuckle, remember the lesson, and move on.
There they are. Henceforth, those are your four feel-good tools. They’re always a correct response to a situation. They’re also cornerstones of your empowerment as a person, since they give you control over how you feel in response to situations. Remember them, practice them liberally, and watch the quality of your life improve dramatically.
The power is within you to change your Life and create an effective future.
Yours,
Pano
PS:
Sort of like Intelligent Design of your Life.
You know you have it in you to do this.
So come along and help shift the world…
Be the change you want to see in this world.
Start within.
