Humility is the key to happiness

 Lately I have learned a lot about respect, pride and living in harmony with the rest of the world. I came across this writing which describes the complete cherishing and embracing of other beings, and I was instantly drawn to it.

With the heartfelt desire and determination to attain enlightenment
For the welfare of all living beings, who are more precious than a
Wish-fulfilling jewel for accomplishing the supreme goal,
May I always cherish them and hold them dear. 

Whenever I am with others
May I think of myself as the lowest of all
And from the very depths of my heart
May I respectfully hold others as supreme. 

 In all actions, may I closely examine my state of mind,
And the moment a disturbing emotion or negative attitude arises,
Since this may cause harm to myself and others,
May I firmly face and avert it.

Whenever I meet people of unpleasant character
Or those overwhelmed by negativity, pain or suffering,
May I cherish and care for them as if I had found
A rare and precious treasure difficult to find. 

Whenever others, because of their jealousy, treat me badly
With abuse, insult, slander, or in other unjust ways,
May I accept this defeat myself
And offer the victory to others. 

When someone whom I have benefited
Or in whom I have placed great trust and hope,
Harms me or treats me in hurtful ways without reason,
May I see that person as my precious teacher. 

 

 In brief, may I offer both directly and indirectly all help,
Happiness and benefit to all beings, my mothers,
And may I secretly take upon myself
All of their harmful actions, pain and suffering. 

May I keep all of these practices undefiled by stains of the eight worldly
concerns (gain/loss, pleasure/pain, praise/blame, fame/dishonor),
And by recognizing the emptiness and illusory nature of all existing things,
May I be liberated from the bondage of attachment and mistaken views of reality. 

 When I first read this I thought about how hard it is to complete bestow to someone else, without judgment, and complete remove yourself from who they are. It sounded like having no self respect to me at all. But after analyzing this concept I realized that the ability to do this would actually symbolize complete self respect- the kind where we don't have to justify it to anyone. 

We like to think that we have complete control over life and we know the answers to everything, but we are so wrong. I have realized that life is so much bigger than us, and so much bigger than anything we can possibly imagine; when it comes to life we are absolutely out of control. The only thing we can do is give ourselves to the universe and take whatever comes our way. But we need to learn to respect others and the life they live, because we are no one to judge them. Since we don't know anything about life it is impossible for us to say what is right and what is wrong.  

I think we need to learn to see the light in everyone. We live our life so focused on ourselves and constantly working towards our own benefit that we forget about humility and doing good for others as well. We constantly put ourselves on a pedestal and make ourselves the center of our world. I spoke with a shaman this weekend and he said "it's incredible to see the superficial lives people are living. We neglect the people closest to us, we disrespect them, and many times we don't even look at them in the eyes. Little do we know what we all need that kind of comfort" and we forget that we have to give out our love too.

We need to learn to live our lives with our heart... Because our mind can't recognize that it doesn't see, it doesn't understand it.  But our heart holds the deepest and most wonderful feelings. Our heart doesn't know about holding grudes and complete pride. And when we let our heart come through and guide us we become so much more approachable which results in living a fuller and happier life. 

I believe

In one of my classes we discussed NPR's I believe talks. I loved listening to it because there is something so incredible about other people's beliefs and how they are shaped by their experiences. We  also had to write our own things that we believe in. Here are mine:


Love conquers all


How you act in a crisis shows who you really are


Trust and respect are the most important things in any relationship


Patience is vital for internal peace and relaxation


We have the power to create our own happiness.


I also found this video which i really liked:



...what do you believe?

All We Need Is Just a Little Patience

I’ve learned a few important things about myself in the past couple of days. I am an optimist in many ways and I always try to look for the benefit in things but at the same time, internally, I can be very negative which harms my own well being and my relationships. This is part of the big reason why I love blogging, because as I write about important positive things it helps me keep them clear in my mind as well. Needless to say I am really trying to improve!

          
Anyways, I was somewhat analyzing myself yesterday and I realized that I am very impatient and that I also have a hard time with trust. When I feel threatened in any way I immediately put my guard up and get very defensive. In perspective this comes out as very mean and bitter. I also always want to be in control and I have a hard time with faith.


Realizing our mistakes is the first step in the right direction, and now that I recognize it I am definitely willing to change it.


Since I am working on a changing my life for my own benefit, I have decided that I will work a lot more on my patience and faith. When I work on a piece of art, I completely let myself go, I take my time, and I just let it happen. The reason why I love that is because I feel so at peace and just one with my experience. However in any other situation I am constantly inside myself and it gets a lot harder to open up and just let whatever happens, happen.

 “We need to learn to relax our anticipatory and reactive minds so we can learn to make the connections we are seeking”

If we just have faith in life and in the exact place where we are at, we become a lot calmer and a lot happier for that very reason. We need to be able to trust ourselves and trust others in order to experience things to their fullest. We need to just give ourselves to life and take whatever comes our way. It can be anything, as long as we completely give ourselves to it, it will be worthwhile. 

Very true:

Here comes the sun....

After a hectic week this weekend definitely served to help me get somewhat relaxed once again and to really focus on the way I am feeling, and just get back into contact with myself.

Today I went to an acapella concert at school and I heard a group from Armenia who was really good. Although they sang in a different language, they gave brief introductions to the songs in order to create the setting and help the listener connect. They said they sing about calmer times, when time was measured by the sun in the sky, or when ones biggest rich was to have a field full of crops. I loved hearing them sing and I especially liked the meaning behind their songs.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in what we have to do that we forget to enjoy the little things, or we sometimes begin to value things that don’t have much worth. Being able to relax and just go through my day slowly definitely helped me notice everything around me and just become much calmer on the inside. I think we all need that find of down time.

Another amazing that that is happening is the CHANGE IN WEATHER! Finally, our grey, cold and windy days have some sunshine which just makes everything brighter and more appealing. People are starting to leave their house, go out for a run, play basketball, etc, which is great because we rarely think about how the weather affects our mood. I’m excited for my favorite time of the year to come where I can soak up the sun and truly enjoy things in a carefree and relaxed manner.

“To be calm is the highest achievement of the self”

Interesting....

Listen

I went to the John Mayer concert last night. Needless to say it was incredible. I absolutely love concerts. There is something about the sound and the gathering of so many people that is absolutely breathtaking. And there is this one huge thing in common—no matter how different you are, everyone is more or less there to for one reason: to hear and enjoy the music. I think sound is one of the most incredible things… and it can reveal so much. It’s an art all in itself. If you just listen to everything around, there is a constant sound that we many times ignore, but it’s always there, keeping us company and constantly surrounding us.

When I was in France last summer, we went to eat at a restaurant where everything is completely black and you can’t see anything. The experience is meant to make you see (or should I say feel?) the world in a different way, because once your sight is gone, all other senses become that much more enhanced. All of a sudden, you’re not only listening, but you’re almost seeing through your ears. When I was eating, I lost track of everything. Since I could not see anything I just listened, I stayed quiet and listened to everything. I became a bit desperate too- longing for my sight back, even so that I had to step out of the darkness and into the bathroom where I gathered myself once again. Before I used to think that if I had to choose between being deaf or blind, I would definitely pick deaf, but after that experience I was not so sure.

But back to the point: The feeling I get when I am involved in a piece of music, or sound (like a speech) that I really like is incredible. There is something about sound that is just so comforting and pleasing. And as my friend Hannah said, “Music is the thing that unites the whole world”. The way music can be used to express emotions or convey a specific feeling is incredible and when you share that experience with someone else, there is such a deep connection. I was sooo happy last night to say the least—the music just made me so excited and happy and I could not stop smiling. All of a sudden, everyone surrounding me was my friend and I almost lost track of my body, and I let myself go, and dance and laughed and sang, and I was completely one with the music. It was perfect.

I used to think that I wanted to go to concerts to meet the artist and go crazy, and be able to show off my autograph everywhere. But I had it all wrong….As Jason Mraz said in his blog,

“I’m not the person you want to meet. The music is. And the music is alive in you as much as it is in me. We created it together. Therefore, you already know me. We’ve already hugged and kissed. We grew close for a moment and then said our goodbyes. 
It took my breath away.”

Now that I realize that I have a whole new appreciation for music, especially when it is live. And by letting myself go and submerging myself in the sound I get taken into another world, where all my emotions are so enhanced and perfect. Not only that but I feel one with everything around me. It is such an amazing experience.

You are the music while the music lasts. 

-T.S. Eliot