Thinking Beyond Science

It is hard not to get caught up in the challenges and negative situations of the world. Feeling peaceful, happy and content is not about avoiding challenges in our life, but about how we navigate through these challenges to reach the type of life we want to live.

If there is one possession we have that is the most valuable and can truly transform our lives completely, it is our free will. We are the authors of our own life stories. Challenges and difficulties may fall upon us, just as the monsoon rains fall upon our head. We don’t seek them or solicit them. They just come our way. We must choose how to respond.

We tend to take everyone at face value, equating what they have on the outside to how they feel on the inside. The paradox of our times is that those who have the most can often be the least satisfied. We have mastered how to look successful, but not how to organize our lives so that we feel successful.

Our silent presence can be more powerful than a million empty words. We all have two ears and one mouth; the amount we listen and the amount we speak should be done proportionately. Rarely do people want an active solution to their problems before they have been thoroughly heard and understood.

Gratitude is not a feeling; it is a state of mind that can be developed, and it allows us to tap into a reservoir of unlimited positive energy. Being grateful happens in two steps. The first is to realize that there is good in the world and that good has fallen upon us. The second is to know that goodness is coming from something other than us, an external reality is giving the gifts of grace to our very own reality. This could be our family, our friends, nature and even God. We have so much to be grateful for!

Statistically, we always have more to be grateful for than ungrateful. Ingratitude means to forget the blessings in our life, to ignore the kind things people have done for us. It is not just positivity we feel when we embrace gratitude. Better sleep, the ability to express more kindness, feeling more alive and even having a stronger immune system are all benefits of being thankful.

One’s ability to appreciate beauty is related to one’s ability to make moral judgements. But to do this, the viewing conditions must be optimal’. Art in a gallery and art in a coffee shop are going to be treated differently. In the coffee shop, the art may be more expensive and of a higher value, but there is no reason to pay attention as people sip a variety of mochaccinos. In most galleries, the ‘optimal’ conditions have been created to appreciate beauty. Light in the right place, enough room between the art and the viewer, a description of the piece, etc.

It has been found that we as a people have got busier over time. We tend to exclude parts of our lives which are not directly related to hard work and accumulating wealth. The construct of the modern world is such that we have less time to press pause, and appreciate beauty.

We should firstly recognize what good has been done to us to say “thank you”. This is easy to do in the moment; like when someone holds the door for us or buys us a hot drink. The next stage is to remember what others have done for us to mean that thank you. Contemplation is by far one of the best methods to develop gratitude. Spending time with our own mind in silence, without any gadgets to stimulate us and contemplating on who has helped us internalizes our gratitude.’

The majority of our time is spent in connecting with the world–networking, relationships, our work. It’s all crucial, but can lead us astray if we have no inner direction. The fear of missing out, thinking that the grass is greener elsewhere, and living a life out of balance are all symptoms of having incorrectly prioritized happiness outside of ourselves.

Beyond our everyday lives, many look for solace within. People struggling with life, those trying to work on themselves to conquer the external world, those curious about their inner world, and occasionally, a few of those seeking the truth–these are the types of people who will take the journey within.

We live in a world of quick fixes. We can microwave our food, and it instantly becomes warm, We can stream our movies, and watch them whenever we like. We can book our tickets anywhere using our phones. Instant travel arrangements! No problem. But sadly, our relationships do not work that way. They follow the same principle as growing a plant: constant care is required so that one day, it blooms. There are no short cuts. It’s all in our small but consistent gestures. The most widely underestimated quality which can help us improve our relationships is forgiveness.

Human beings are not just another species. They have the ability to cooperate and subscribe to higher values such as harmony, loyalty and trust. Just as within natural ecosystems competition is greater within the same species, within humans competition is fierce within the same company or the same field of action. We compete with people who have the same skills or outlook in life as us.

An engineer competes with another engineer, a musician with another musician and a doctor with another doctor. When another person’s skills have no bearing on our life, we rarely feel threatened. But if someone can outperform us by doing better in what we aspire to do, the base tendencies of competition can settle in.

Source : Life’s Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life by Gaur Gopal Das

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41061747-life-s-amazing-secrets