Keeping calm

"Chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi

balavad drisham

tasyaham nigraham manye vayor ina sudushkaram"

"The mind is very restless and turbulent, O Krishna. It is more difficult to control than the wind"

Have you ever found yourself in a deep thought? How long does a single thought last before being interrupted by the ping of your cell phone or before your mind wanders off to a new direction, a new thought? Studies say our minds get distracted every three minutes. We find ourselves imagining situations, imagining the future or a different past. We find ourselves constantly fretting over little things. 

Our minds makes up stories and a million "what ifs", mostly based on a past experience or an observation. We then decide our course of action or reaction. We claim to foresee our future recurling the past. Yes, the past may influence the future but it doesn't control it. Why are our thoughts constantly fiddling over the past and future, neglecting the present?

A higher intelligence runs the body. You cannot determine how your life is going to proceed. You can make predictions, you can work in an attempt to tame your future, or your life, but eventually, life moves in totality. You have to accept that some things cannot be controlled. In a bid to control it, you are missing out the little good things in life. Our future has no upper limit, there's no ultimate goal that needs to be reached. There are, no doubt, short term goals, but once you reach it, you don't stop there. You then set up a different, new goal. 

How often has life moved according to your plans? Sometimes it does, but that's merely a wee percentage of the totality and can even be a co-incidence. You will, at some point of your lives, find yourselves in situations which was never a part of your plan or your imagination. Putting in a lot of effort to achieve what you want, word by word, is undoubtedly going to tire you and frustrate you. The sick part is- this planning, debacle, dejection, re-planning has no end. 

How long will the mind run? How long will it chase the unchaseable? 

Do you really want to be a part of this illness? Or do you want to let go, give your best shot nonetheless, and enjoy life the way it is going. Sometimes it's best to stop determing the destination, and enjoying the ride instead of trying to control the uncontrollable. Life is always moving towards your well-being. 

"Not my will but thy will be done"

God's plan is always better than our plans.

Knowing that things seldom goes word by word according to our plans doesn't mean we give up completely and just watch life as it is going. The past is gone, the future is unpredictable but you have your present. Make the most of it. Work towards your goal but don't be obsessed with it. Embrace failure more than you embrace success. Plans hardly work but human nature doesn't mutate suddenly. The trick is to make plans for your success but also expect or make plans following failure, towards a new option, a new goal, a new success plan. You will not want to regret over the only life you have. Make the best of it. Try everything your heart says. Don't let temporary happiness distract you. 

You need to understand that not everything needs to be attended to. You don't have to see every Facebook post or check Instagram till "you're all caught up". Not every message or call needs immediate answer. Prioritize the work you are doing now. You have to know what needs your attention, what doesn't. 

At the same time, you also have to stop thinking only about yourself. Make time for everything and make sure they are discrete. 

Learn to consider others and you will become infinite. 

As Dalai Lama said "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries". 

Start each morning with a new energy and renewed hopes. Take a deep breathe. Help people- nothing calms the mind more. Turn off your phone's notification. Eat slow. Drink tea. Listen to instrumental music. You have all the time to be mindful and to clear all the chatter that is going on inside your head. 

Stop being anxious. We all have anxiety issues. Anxiety leads to overthinking. Overthinking leads to more anxiety. More anxiety leads to more and more overthinking. You are caught in a cycle. Try to see your anxious thoughts as mere "predictions". It's always good to expect the worst, but that's just a guess. Things can take any direction any time. So why worry about a thing that may not even happen. 

Suffering is suffering unjustified. Do you say you're suffering when you work out in a gym? No, because that suffering is justified. You have chosen it. Discomfort may give you pain, but at the end of the day, it makes you grow. Learn to change your perception. 

We are all in a state of crisis. The need of the hour is to be calm and composed. This pandemic should not stop us from being human. Take a moment, step back and realize that your actions now impact everyone. Stay inside, stay safe, stay healthy and you can prevent the spread of this illness and also put less stress on the healthcare system who are fighting day and night. Everyone deserves to be healthy, everyone deserves to eat. Stop hoarding food like there's no one else in the world but you.

Spread love. Treat people with kindness. Stay safe.