In this choice-less never ending flow of life,
There is an infinite ray of choices,
One alone brings happiness to love what is.
-Dorothy Hunt
***
As I have researched for this first post and reflected upon the feelings of worry and fear, I have come across many moving quotes that speak to these heavy emotions. In particular, this composition from the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji, has resonated with me tremendously.
Chinta Ta Kee Keejiye Jo Unhonee Hoy
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1429
It means one shall worry if whatever happens is improbable. GuruJi continues his thoughts by imparting practical wisdom - saying that this is a natural law running through the universe where nothing is permanent. This includes health, status, wealth and whole host of things we cherish and try to hold forever. He implicitly advises to “go with the flow,” and to recognize that everything, whether helpful or troublesome, comes from the same spiritual source.
Worries are the children of fear. Once the process of worrying starts, the mind gets obsessed and starts creating vivid stories with bad endings. To make it worse for ourselves, we cling to these stories.
Our brains are hardwired for fear. Fear within reason is natural, supports survival, and it has played a significant role in our evolution. It has been established that more than 30% of the time our mind is automatically in a state of worry or fear. We worry about health, children, money, and a host of other real or imaginary things.
Despite the small chance of something detrimental occurring, the feeling of worry takes up so much of our time and mind space. Mark Twain said that “Worrying about something is like paying interest on a debt you don’t even know you owe.”
The process of dealing with worries and fear by resisting the thoughts makes the outcome even worse. This reminds me of a story. A Zen Samurai soldier was meditating. A fly came and sat on his nose. He took his sword and split the fly in two. Magically both parts became whole, and there were two flies. He again, using his sword, split them in two. Now he had to contend with four flies. Each sword action kept the flies multiplying. Soon he realized that it was fighting which was making the flies multiply. Resisting thoughts is the same as killing flies. It is said that suffering is pain multiplied by resistance. Less resistance, less suffering.
The conundrum then arises as to how to best deal with mind’s inevitable habit of worrying. If one thinks too much about your worries, they take over the who;e space in the mind , and if on etries to purposefully resist, the result is no better.
According to Sages, mindful observation is the key to solve this problem. According to Sikh scripture, the true medicine for all (mind) inflictions is meditating on the Lord’s nature and virtues. Guru Arjun Dev Ji offers this advice telling us that contemplating and practicing virtues will bring us closer to our divine nature (thus bringing us to a place of no suffering)
Sarab Rog ka Aukhad Naam
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 274
By clinging to our worries and fears, we are not living in the present nor are we in touch with our true selves. We forgo the blessings life offers us on a daily basis and lose the opportunity to expand our hearts with gratitude. Rumi, a Sufi mystic, implores us to entertain all happenings as blessings and guide from above:
This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness
Comes as an unexpected visitor
Welcome and entertain them all
The dark thought, the shade, the malice
Meet them at the door laughing
And invite them in
Be grateful for whoever comes
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond
Each moment, good or bad, process in our lives brings an opportunity for freshness and tender love. We must be willing to embrace a shift in our outlook in order to see this opportunity, and open ourselves to finding our true nature through self-love – a love where fear is accepted as natural evolutionary phenomenon, but recognized as impermanent.
There is an infinite ray of choices,
One alone brings happiness to love what is.
-Dorothy Hunt
***
As I have researched for this first post and reflected upon the feelings of worry and fear, I have come across many moving quotes that speak to these heavy emotions. In particular, this composition from the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji, has resonated with me tremendously.
Chinta Ta Kee Keejiye Jo Unhonee Hoy
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1429
It means one shall worry if whatever happens is improbable. GuruJi continues his thoughts by imparting practical wisdom - saying that this is a natural law running through the universe where nothing is permanent. This includes health, status, wealth and whole host of things we cherish and try to hold forever. He implicitly advises to “go with the flow,” and to recognize that everything, whether helpful or troublesome, comes from the same spiritual source.
Worries are the children of fear. Once the process of worrying starts, the mind gets obsessed and starts creating vivid stories with bad endings. To make it worse for ourselves, we cling to these stories.
Our brains are hardwired for fear. Fear within reason is natural, supports survival, and it has played a significant role in our evolution. It has been established that more than 30% of the time our mind is automatically in a state of worry or fear. We worry about health, children, money, and a host of other real or imaginary things.
Despite the small chance of something detrimental occurring, the feeling of worry takes up so much of our time and mind space. Mark Twain said that “Worrying about something is like paying interest on a debt you don’t even know you owe.”
The process of dealing with worries and fear by resisting the thoughts makes the outcome even worse. This reminds me of a story. A Zen Samurai soldier was meditating. A fly came and sat on his nose. He took his sword and split the fly in two. Magically both parts became whole, and there were two flies. He again, using his sword, split them in two. Now he had to contend with four flies. Each sword action kept the flies multiplying. Soon he realized that it was fighting which was making the flies multiply. Resisting thoughts is the same as killing flies. It is said that suffering is pain multiplied by resistance. Less resistance, less suffering.
The conundrum then arises as to how to best deal with mind’s inevitable habit of worrying. If one thinks too much about your worries, they take over the who;e space in the mind , and if on etries to purposefully resist, the result is no better.
According to Sages, mindful observation is the key to solve this problem. According to Sikh scripture, the true medicine for all (mind) inflictions is meditating on the Lord’s nature and virtues. Guru Arjun Dev Ji offers this advice telling us that contemplating and practicing virtues will bring us closer to our divine nature (thus bringing us to a place of no suffering)
Sarab Rog ka Aukhad Naam
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 274
By clinging to our worries and fears, we are not living in the present nor are we in touch with our true selves. We forgo the blessings life offers us on a daily basis and lose the opportunity to expand our hearts with gratitude. Rumi, a Sufi mystic, implores us to entertain all happenings as blessings and guide from above:
This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness
Comes as an unexpected visitor
Welcome and entertain them all
The dark thought, the shade, the malice
Meet them at the door laughing
And invite them in
Be grateful for whoever comes
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond
Each moment, good or bad, process in our lives brings an opportunity for freshness and tender love. We must be willing to embrace a shift in our outlook in order to see this opportunity, and open ourselves to finding our true nature through self-love – a love where fear is accepted as natural evolutionary phenomenon, but recognized as impermanent.
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