By nature many of us tend to be modest and undervalue ourselves, possibly fearing that we would be branded egoistic. Then there are others who strut around displaying their brawn or brain or wealth partly to impress others but often to overcome some other shortcoming in them. Of course there are many others who live an indifferent life, yearning to make an impact in the society they live in and hoping they get noticed. In reality, the world values and respects anyone who behaves, acts and demonstrates humane qualities, exemplary behavior and a sense of responsibility. This is perhaps the simplest and most natural way a normal human being should ideally respond, for each of us is born with the a multitude of virtues be it innocence, honesty, empathy, happiness and love.
Unfortunately the vices of the world, the pressures of survival and the craving to amass superimpose in our original self the artificiality of being worldly wise, attempting to be clever by half, walking the tight rope between reality and illusion and seeking self gratification at any cost. The once radiant self, the childlike innocence, the core values in us dissipate against the onslaught of the pressure to conform to the emerging standards of the society and environment around us. This change for the worse is reflected in our inability to be at peace with ourselves, our constant suspicion and apprehension of the world around us and our disgust, dislike and disapproval of people, circumstances and happenings around us.
Yet despite this gloomy and glum scenario, there is hope; hope that is well within your abilities and grasp; all it needs is YOU for you are the mirror that reflect backs what everyone else sees. Here are a few virtues which you can nurture and nourish to ensure that you live and reflect hope, harmony and happiness where ever you are.
Smile. There is nothing so simple as smiling when your are happy, when you are at peace, when you want to lighten the mood, when you want to reach out to another, when you want to overlook and aberration by another, when the troubles seem overwhelming and when you want to experience bliss. A smile relives the tensions, helps connect with another and gets others to experience your joy.
Respond. Reach out proactively, do something spontaneously, make things happen, take the lead, stand up to be counted, speak up to be heard, stand by a friend in trouble, confront the wrong doer, restrain your anger, realize your potential.
Give. Giving your time is perhaps the most challenging of all the gifts that you can give. Give unconditionally, give it free and give with grace be it time, money or love.
Accept. Accept with grace you faults, your mistakes, your limitations, the negative feedback and your punishments. More importantly accept your family, friends and colleagues as an extension of yourself, with all the limitations and imperfections that you have accepted of yourself.
Forgive. First learn to forgive yourself and get rid of the guilt of your past shortcomings, failings, mistakes and aberrations. Thereafter open your heart to those who have wronged you and forgive them their indiscretions and willful hurt they may have caused.
Love. If we have been stingy with this emotion, it is time we realized that this is one emotion that you will never run short of. Love yourself first, then those around, then go on to love your life as it exists, love the circumstances in which you are and love the miracle called life. Within those 4 alphabets lies the universal secret, that where there is LOVE Life Opens Virtuous Emotions.
Try this :
- For each of the 6 virtues enumerated above, outline one or two situations or people where you would find it extremely difficult to respond with the relevant virtue. Ask yourself if it is your ego that is the barrier or the hurt is too extensive or you fear a sense of defeat if you respond with a positive emotion?
- How would you relate/ respond/ react to the following
- You are asked to identify a robber who has waylaid you and trashed you when robbing you.
- You meet a former tyrannical boss who you feel has derailed your career at a social function.
- You run into a former intimate friend with whom you had a bitter parting.
- You meet a former teacher, who had mistakenly accused you of copying in an exam as a result of which your reputation took a severe beating.
- During a family picnic you are forced to travel with a cousin in his/ her car whom you had accused of damaging your sports gear because of which you and your cousin stopped talking years ago.
- You bump into an old colleague at the city hospital who had borrowed a few thousand rupees for an emergency and who thereafter left your organization and never got in touch with you to return the money
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
You are also invited to visit our Inspirational and Motivational Blog
This Post Has 4 Comments
I feel my mistake in life is I don’t accept people with their faults……..or else life could be much easier………i can’t accept greed, fake behavior, materialism, unkindness………..dont know how to do this.
We all have our limitations and quirks which is what makes us the unique individual we are. While you have acknowledged your own fault/ limitation in not being more tolerant of people with faults, pause for a moment and think of all those who give you unconditional acceptance despite the faults they find in you. Maybe the simplest thing that you can do, which I am sure you might be unconsciously practicing is to give those whom you are not comfortable with a wide berth without being too critical of them.
In any case greed, artificiality, materialism, unkindness etc. are behavioral traits largely despised by the vast majority. You can take some comfort in the fact that your behavior and response to such people displaying such negative thoughts is not an aberration though a polite response articulating your views and a charitable forgiveness to them would find you more relaxed and at peace.
Thank you for reading the posts so insightfully and for expressing your views on them.
your blog is so beautiful and just reading through it makes me happier and relieved
Hi Arun. Your Appreciative comment is both encouraging and motivating for us. Delighted to note that the blog contents make you happy. Thank you for taking time out to comment on the blog posts and we look forward to more such comments about the other posts too. Do also share the link of the blog with your friends and email contacts.
Regards
Jacob