Opinions

When you're giving an opinion about something, observe whether it's uplifting your mood. Judgemental approach towards events, things and people rarely increase your spirit and the spirit of the people around you. People who embrace such approach tend to find themselves alone and lingering in the past.

How can we deal with our opinions? Our minds say "yes" or "no" automatically all the time. Have you noticed this? It's constant and we cannot escape it. It is built in us.

If we grab each and every "yes" and "no" our minds generate and say it aloud, it actually drains us out quickly and we become tired. They are like clouds, they come and go all the time. An event happens and then a sensation is given to you... and in the very next moment something else happens and another sensation is given to you. The cycle repeats and repeats, it is endless. So if we run after every opinion our minds trigger, we run out of breath soon.

But if they are like clouds, why not stop for awhile and just observe them as they pass by instead of chasing them all the time? We can never catch them, they're always faster than us anyway. Embracing observation of our emotions will take us away from the heat of the everyday situations, and through this our opinions will be set free of feverish quality whether they are positive or negative. Discriminating the world around us brings dissonance and exhaustion. Peace, happiness and the strength of mind comes from the world within us.

In reality, no event or experience can ever touch your deepest layers. You are the most beautiful thing that has ever been made. You are made of love. This is a force that will propel you through life and remain untouched by everything.

The flower

Every day new challanges arise. Sometimes they are given to us or we create them ourselves. We chase dreams, we reach goals, we beat deadlines. The tasks may be very small, such as doing home chores, or something big such as coordinating a team of people to work together in a project.

In the middle of all this we may lose our sight. A common mistake is to concentrate on the goal and forget what is around it. The thing we need to really concentrate on are the steps that lead us to our destination.

For example, imagine that you want a flower and you have a seed. What are your options? You cannot force the seed to become a flower. However, you can create the best possible situation for the seed. If you give it water, sun, time and proper nutritions, it may become a beautiful flower. When you shift your aim from the flower itself to its needs and to the enviroment, it broadens the perspective. More options become availabe and prioritizing becomes easier. The beauty and joy of the flower in bloom may be given to you but it becomes just a small part of the process. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter because you've given it your best and this in itself always more rewarding than any goal.

Forcing something only brings anxiety to everyone and even if the goal is reached by doing so, it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. It becomes a hollow accomplishment, a negative memory that will not be cherished but rather forgot by you and everyone around you.

We cannot just directly wish our dreams to become reality but we can affect our surroundings. We cannot create success but we can create the best possible situation for something like that to happen. Shift your aim from the goal to the things that make it possible. When you've created the best possible enviroment for something to happen, it allows you to relax, observe and enjoy the process.

What kind of fruit are you offering to the world?

We are like trees. Every tree is good but a tree is perceived by the fruit it provides. Our surroundings work on quite simple basics. Either we offer the things people need or we don't.

If a person is always late, constantly complains, makes excuses and spreads bad mood all around.. well, those are bad fruits. Who wants that? Simple fundamentals will work in any field of life whether you do art, work in a bank or heal people. To put it bluntly: be on time, do what you are asked to do, accept good feedback and learn from negative without an attitude. We're supposed to do our best, that's it.

But it is crucial to remember this at the same time - do not let the things you offer define what you are to yourself. If you do that, the mind becomes attached to goals. This will result in arrogance and fear of failure. Value yourself for what you are within and don't let the peace of mind get tied on scoreboards. That's the way to lose it.

We are all fantastic, lovable people inside. You see, difficulties will arise throughout life and those moments will test our strength but the better you know what you are within, the smaller the trouble. Nobody wants to share a journey with a person who turns into a little child every time a small bump comes along the way. You can laugh your heart out with both friends and enemies but when trouble arises, greatest companions are the ones who do not drag you down.

The world wants the best that you can offer. It simply wants you to dare to be the best you that you can be. The more you provide your surroundings with this, the more positive things will accumulate for everyone, including you. It's in our nature to do so for each other. So, what kind of fruit are you offering?

Hello,

Here's an article that I've enjoyed very much in the past. It's kinda rough but ultimately it has a very strong and positive angle towards improving ourselves and the lives of people around you. I hope you enjoy it.

"6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person"

By David Wong

Valuing yourself and others

When feelings of either arrogance or worthlessness appear, how do we react?

Sometimes arrogant persons just push our buttons, we get irritated, frustrated and angry. We lose our peace of mind, sense of self-worth and start talking bad things about them.

But why lose yourself in those negative emotions? Remember that an arrogant person is in fact feeling unwell. In reality he is not like that inside. When a person is acting that way, he is in fact in dissonance and suffering. Brush it off of your shoulders, connect to your own compassion and forgive, don't let that person's behavior disturb your peace of mind. Reactions only feed the arrogance, so stop wasting your energy on reacting and forgive yourself for feeling negative emotions towards him.

Let's look into arrogance. What is it made of, why does it create so much suffering? There is two things. Arrogance usually indicates that the person is clinging on to achievements, past events or to something that is yet to happen. He becomes disconnected from this moment. The other obvious thing is that the person values himself apart from others and this will result in disconnection with everyone around him. This brings only a sense of loneliness, even if he'd be in a middle of a crowd. An arrogant person has lifted himself above the others and is in fact in constant fear of falling down. It's a struggle and a burden.

Now see that if a person is feeling worthless the results are actually the same. It is equally bad. The person values himself differently, becomes disconnected from the surroundings and the same anxiety arises. He ends up feeling desolated comparing himself to others. Living in the fear of becoming ashamed or feeling ashamed, it's all the same because the mind ends up revolving around shame.

Both of these sensations are illusions. If you ever find yourself experiencing them, don't jump from one extreme to the other in panic, just come back calmly to the center. Remember that achievements and failures come and go. You are already complete with or without those goals and medals, they do not define your value. You are much more, don't be afraid of it. Connect to your surroundings and the people around you without barriers and these feelings of inequality disappear.

Stress

Stress.

Why lose yourself in stressful feelings? Does it help you to complete your tasks? When you've obliged yourself to do certain things, you are bound to do them anyway. You have school, exams, work, projects… hitting one deadline after another, we all deal with this. But you see, when you have a deadline, you are bound to finish the job whether you stress about it or not. Your deadline does not care about your stress, your paperwork can't give you sympathy. They're just goals. So what are you really stressed about?

Those stressful feelings only separate you from the connection with others, it only pushes your loved ones away. Concentrate on your breathing and acknowledge that the duties that feel overwhelming are in fact a series of single, tiny tasks. Accept that you are on a path and the destination is reached by taking one step at a time, you can not leap to the goal. No one is born ready.

The thing is, most of the time we're not actually even stressing about the tasks but we are just simply afraid of other peoples judgement if we fail. Why concentrate on failure, fear and speculating on how others see you? Those things won't help you to complete your tasks. They just blur and distract your mind. Stop comparing yourself to others, there's no reward at the end of that road. Breathe deep and slow, come back to this moment and concentrate on to what is important.

Remember that you are in fact loved by others, take it for granted. I repeat, you are loved by others, take it for granted. When you acknowledge this, you take a step towards inner peace. That love is there, always has been and always will be. There's no reason to waste time questioning it. Be at ease, don't worry and carry on.

Happiness

Happiness.

We sometimes recognize it as only being in a joyous state of mind, laughing and having fun. Those signs are obvious results of that positive energy but there is much more to it. One key part of happiness is in fact the readiness to overcome the inevitable obstacles in life. You can only be truly happy when you embrace this uncertainty of the future without fear. If this fear controls your life, the laughter will sound hollow and nervous.

Troubles and problems in life are a part of its richness. Of course there will be sadness and pain involved when bad things happen but remember that it's only temporary. When you hit your finger with a hammer, it hurts for a while but it passes.

Misfortunes are a part of our everyday life just as much as the good things. When you face uneasy things in your life, do not hide. Be brave and be honest. Don't lose yourself in the negative passion and despair. Understand that those emotions come simply from fear. Why waste a lifetime living in such an unhappy state? Stop playing games, stop comparing pain and scars. Get out from that turmoil and accept that your past has happened and the future cannot be predicted.

When the negative things are at hand, passion will only suffocate your compassion and lead you back to hatred and fear. Leave your passion behind. The thing is, only through compassion will you find true strength to overcome your misfortunes. When you do this, you will achieve peace, happiness and connection with others.

Trouble, misfortune and obstacles are here to elevate you, don't be afraid of the challenge. You can do it, there is no question about it.