“The battle you are going through is not fueled by the words or actions of others; it is fueled by the mind that gives it importance.”
– Shannon L. Alder
Kabir – The couplet
सकलो दुर्मति दूर करू, अच्छा जनम बनाव ।
काग गवन गति छांडि के, हंस गवन चलि आव ||
Transliterated:
Sakalo Durmati Door Karoo, Acchha Janam Banaav |
Kaag Gavan Gati Chaandi Ke, Hans Gavan Chali Aav||
Translation:
Dear all, give up negative thoughts, brighten you life |
Give up your crow-like nature, come to me as the resplendent swan ||
My understanding:
The extreme cold weather around me gave me an opportunity to see myself in a different perspective. The sense on cold on the skin automatically propels the mind to find warmth somewhere. This attracted me to the fireplace and the comfort it promised. As I got to contemplate the fire there, I soon got lost in the haze and the apparent dance of air that the heat generated, distorting the view of the space around the fire. And I was presented with the thought that negativity, like the fire, was capable of distorting my perception of the space around me, making me see things very differently from reality.
Until I step away from the generator of the distortion, I will have no conscious perception of reality. My perceived reality will have no basis in truth, and all thought and action taken from that viewpoint will brand me outside of the space I need to be.
So then the next thought – how do I gain that control to be able to quench that fire? If I am generating the fire and become the fire, I cannot quench it. To be able to step away, I have to differentiate myself from the mirage that is the anguished ego. This separation can only occur when I have seen it melt away and disappear in a prior calmer moment. So, as with everything else, practice prepares and helps make perfect. Deep breaths can only calm the external self – gaining control over a tumultuous mind that is in the firm grip of ego is a whole different level of control.
To find that calm space, one has to establish the ability to identify the first disturbance and squash it, for, if left unchecked, it will grow into the storm that cannot be abated easily. The unprepared self for sure will not be able to even begin establishing control – which is where I, the average human, will despair, give up, and explain it away as inevitability and fate. But, the reality is, I can – if I put my mind to it, AND work to affect that control.
So here is to new exercises for the mind and learning control.