One moment I could be meditating and feeling perfectly happy, the next I receive unpleasant news from someone or someone says something to agitate or upset me. All of a sudden my peace is gone; what happened? Our world is full of challenges and disappointments. If we tune into our heart and ask ourselves “what do I need?” the answer will be simple: peace, happiness, love. It comes down to eliminating things and people from our life (if we’re able to) that cause us unnecessary stress, and if we can’t, then we need to learn how not to sweat the small stuff. If you ever watched a candle flame, you probably felt transfixed by it – isn’t there something captivating about it? Well, in that moment as you gaze into the candle flame, you become one with it, thoughts cease and you enter a meditative state. And in that moment everything feels whole and complete.
How can we recreate that same stillness and serenity in our daily lives? I once was told that a person that can truly meditate can do it anywhere – even in the middle of Times Square. Peace comes from within; if we always wait for perfect conditions to feel peace, it may never come. An interesting story comes to mind: Imagine you have a glass of water, now imagine someone comes up to it and stirs it with a spoon. You look at your glass and you see all this sediment come up. You immediately get angry: look what you did to my water! You accuse the person. But, the sediment was yours, you see, for if there was no sediment in the glass, there would be nothing to stir up. Our mind is like that glass of water – anytime we are angered by someone or someone makes us upset, the sediment is stirred and comes to the top.
Stewing in such emotions is bad for one’s health, as it increases our heart rate and blood pressure and robs us of our peace of mind. The solution then is to let unpleasant thoughts and emotions pass through us, and like an observer in meditation – simply let them drift as they may without judging them or labeling them. Anytime you’re in inner turmoil, remind yourself that everything is just as it should be and working out for your highest good, because it is!
Olga Shkolnik