you can't see if you always keep looking

Even though we are always looking for what we seek knowingly and unknowingly, we cant see it. The most profound and evident feelings, emotions and experience cant be seen with our naked eyes. It requires delving inside. We all have felt at some point ecstatic joy & happiness. It doesnt matter what was its triggering cause as the source always remains in our heart. Whether it is a warm embrace of our beloved one, excessive sensory pleasure, affection from your mother, holding your child, etc. We tend to close our eyes to let it engulf our very existence for that moment, to savour it fully. Even something that hasnt got anything to do with emotions like a perfect breeze, we have to close our eyes to cherish it. Its an involuntary action. As these are some of the most beautiful moments of our life and our eyes arent required to see them. We keep looking to increasingly experience such joy or enhance it but cant see it anywhere. It just happens when it has to happen.

If only one could identify the exact location of the rise and dissolve of this wonderful feeling that emanates in our heart, we wouldnt be dependent for its trigger. May be even hold on to it for as long as we want or have a constant flow.

After a long day of hard work, wasted time, dream coming true or any other circumstances, it has to end the same as every other day. We lie down and close our eyes to sleep. Whether its joy or sadness, whether you want it to pass away or hold to it forever. The strength to accept the inevitable tragedy or joy of success that we have craved for the longest time. It has to be processed with our eyes closed eventually. When you are praying with all your faith and devotion, you close your eyes. All the important instances that occur in our life are only seen with closed eyes.

We derive our strength to look forward to what each day brings by not looking. The clarity to see things in their right light comes from not looking. It is considered the worst kind of torture for any human when they are not allowed to sleep for more than 72 hours. As those few hours of not looking every night during our sleep is essential for existence. Else it drives us insane.

If you want to expand your potential, gain clarity towards the purpose of your endeavors, get answers to inexplicable questions and instances, ultimately experience limitless peace & love, you just have to consciously close your eyes, to be at complete rest. Its the epicenter of answers to so many mysteries, most of which subconsciously plague us through out our lives. Its the ultimate door we need to enter to cater to all our needs of Safety, Love and belonging, Esteem and self-actualization.

When we look at it literally then there is nothing to be found. As without any objectivity we dont know what to relate with or begin with. One has to be a lateral thinker to take this chance, be at a saturation of craving, exasperated with the fleetingness of things. Its like a journey in uncharted planes with nothing at your disposal, full of uncertainity but no fear to losing anything.

What we see may not necessarily be real and we cant see yet doesnt imply;  it cant be real. 

Life is a debt!

When an infant cries over a broken clay toy, we smile affectionately at the silliness; when a child raises hell over separation with a friend owing to change of school/city, we smile and cajole them out of it; when a young one nags over a new toy or candy, we convince them out of it by all means. We all act so grown up, wise and pragmatic in such situations but fail miserably when facing the same. As we age, our ego builds a false notion of value importance for various things people we are interested in. If only we d instill the same knowledge given taken in our childhood, lifewould be much more sorted. We would nt cry, fight or be depressed for some acquisition and separation of our beloved ones for whatever reason it may have occurred. We struggle all the time to gain what we dont have already or was ours once, but rarely appreciate fully or be grateful to the universal giver.

It is comprehensible when a child acts like this but not when grown ups do. The primary most important reason is what we have failed to understand utterly that life everything which comes with it, is a debt on us. We owe it to something/someone we dont know, dont understand and unfortunately dont care. Nothing here is ours and no matter what claims we may prove over someone or something, it wont become ours.

The first thing that strikes me is the end of life, how its unsure and not in our hands. So all the things at our disposal and things that we may gain access to eventually, by acquiring them somehow or the other, are with us for an uncertain amount of time. We are all born in varied circumstances, financial condition, family members, location, religion, weather, health, etc. We cannot determine any of these for ourselves and nor can anybody else. They are pre-ordained. If we look around, various children are born with certain disabilities ailments. But most of us have been gifted with almost perfect senses to experience this world. Are we really ever grateful for that? We have eyes, ears, tongue, nose, face, arms, legs, mind, brain, etc. The very basic essentials to live life. They are all taken for granted to be our rightful property.

We all have been given so much but we fail to even acknowledge the courtesy. If someone dear to us is sick, disabled, hurt or dead, we cry over it, get sad or depressed. If any of our precious belonging/acquisition gets lost, damaged, stolen or taken against our will, we crave it like anything and almost like our life depends on it. If someone snatches our status, post or insults us in some way damaging our position amongst our peers, society, workplace, etc. basically hurting our ego, its such a devastating experience. Why is it that we are so oblivious to the fact that none of it is ours. It is been given to us or made available to us. Even we have acquired or build something over time with efforts, remember the time, efficiency talent was not originally ours. We are just temporary caretakers with certain perks.

There is a owner of everything we perceive knowingly or unknowingly, things we are aware of yet or not. His system is very intricate, immaculate and flawless. Just because we dont know it, doesnt mean it doesnt exist and just because we dont understand it, doesnt mean its flawed. The nature and all its beings features are in perfect sync bound by a certain law pattern governed by the owner.

We all must spend some time to express our gratitude someway or the other, by praising the giver/owner in our hearts, by contributing means at our disposal to those who dont have, doing selfless service of any kind to those in need and most of all spread his kindness, love generosity to everybody we come across with equanimity. Otherwise its a disastrous waste to die eventually with a narrow mind and selfish attitude.

We are all self-inflicted slaves

How can you be happier and more satisfied in your life? I thought of using this as a title of this post. Its the most common question asked and answered in self-help/improvment guides. But I realized it has something to do with the submissive nature of ours. Hence I consider us all self-inflicted slaves to our mind.

The happiness and satisfaction of our lives is a state or experience of our mind. We pereceive things through our senses and experience it in our mind. Mostly it lasts for a very short time, before again our mind projects a new situation/condition to make us feel incomplete. We keep trying and experimenting with various things, people and situations around us. We try to determine how to make the best out of them to our benefit or for people we care. We see, hear, taste, smell, touch and feel everything at our disposal in our own way. Thereby to establish a meaning or connection to it. There are myriad subjects available to us whether we know them all yet or not. 

There lies the catch, the constant endeavor to please our mind, convince it, satisfy it, etc. We confuse our satisfaction to be that of our minds'. As unfortunately 99% of us dont know our identity beyond our mind and body. No I am not refering to us being a soul. As soul too just comprises of our subtle body. But I am not even talking about various layers of our existence here. 

You will have to experiment this on your own to realize what I am trying to say here purely out of my own experience. First of all lets just do away with the barrier of any kind of fear of society, law, etc. As they prevent us from taking into action many thoughts that may occur to us at times. We dont want to pay heed to those kind of feeling and desires here. We all have our sense of righteousness based on our upbringing, culture, education and exposure. So there are again many actions we avoid out of that obligation. So now we narrow down to all actions & activities which are unconditional and free from prejudice or dire consequences. 

We spend all of our time & energy for ourselves and/or things/people we deem important to us. But you have to at least try to go out of your way even if it costs you a bit and keep yourself open to do something for someone self-lessly. You have to deduce that the outcome is not benefitial to you in anyway you can understand for now. There is nothing in return you expect from it. Again you can choose any activity for the same. But I suppose you get the gist. The heart of the matter here is that do something willingly against your mind's wish everyday for sometime. Be it assisting somebody helpless whom you dont know, tending to anybody in need, planting trees in remote places, cleaning places where we dont hangout, etc. 

I would like to stress here again that I am pointing towards things you either dont notice because you are too busy and self-absorbed in your own life or dont consciously take out time for. Even if you start with half an hour a day, it can yield results you cant possibly imagine. All you need to do is cut sometime out of your next weekend getaway, coffee with a dear one, a little bit from your sleep, etc. The more you dont like to do or cant do the better. It can be a sick relative you dont like to visit or some distant aquaintance in very poor & helpless state. If its strangers in these conditions then all the more better. You should force yourself out of the reverie of selfish pursuits & gains. For a change expand your heart, broaden your mind and choose to be different from animals. 

There is so much stress & confusion at every nook and corner of our life today. Essentially because all our energies our constantly focused to just please our mind. It has gradually made us very selfish and focused only on our feelings and desires. My career, my companion, my family, my friends, my ideology, my aim, my ambition, my desire, my wish...............We have become so predictable and boring indirectly.

Interestingly, this is also the essence of meditation. Its meant for you to exercise control over your mind & body for sometime and avoid them from participating in any conscious activity. To refrain from all feelings, thoughts, ideas, movements for a shortwhile everyday. The most vivid and direct way to confront your true nature. To be completely comfortable and in acceptance of who you are. Before you venture out in the world with your expectations & ideas and hoping people to see you in the right light. Its the most primary selfless activity from which you cant derive anything physical. It gradually opens up the capacity in you pay more attention to everything around, to be aware, to have greater & longer focus on your determination, to contribute to existence in its entirety with however small a contribution. To be happier & more satisfied in your skin.