Nothing will ever completely satisfy your state of happiness but yourself. Many people spend their whole life investing their emotional well being into others and material possessions only to find out that nothing ever cures the emptiness. Some people turn to religion and it may help for awhile, but eventually when times get tough you will once again be left with emptiness and confusion of why it has failed you or dealt you a undeserving circumstance. The only thing that can satisfy this emptiness is yourself.
You must take responsibility for your self and your own actions. This includes your thoughts as well. We spend most of our unconscious lives deflecting responsibility by blaming others, looking for someone to save us or ignoring problems in hopes they will go away. These are all self defense mechanisms of the mind and our emotional pain bodies. Pain loves more pain. It cannot survive without it. Therefore it seeks it out to keep it alive and thriving. We all have to be the ones responsible for dissolving our own emotional pain. We have to be conscious of when it rises and quickly put a stop to the negative thinking. After all, while the body and mind may trigger emotions based on what is happening outside of self we do have the ability to harness those emotions and not to let ourselves play into them. Control them rather than be controlled.
Taking responsibility for your actions is liberating. Not depending on someone else to make you happy is liberating. Understanding that all things in life, all experiences, relationships and emotions are temporary. Nothing is forever. Everything will always change. This is what I mean by happiness is sadness. Anything that makes you happy will eventually make you sad. And that’s okay. This is something we all have to come to accept. Think about it. Name anything in your life that brings you happiness that will not eventually or could have the potential to make you sad. There is nothing. This is not to be thought of as depressing. It merely Is. Life is about accepting what Is.
Therefore do not pursue happiness. Instead accept the overwhelming peace and joy that comes from within when you acknowledge and accept that there is nothing in life but the present moment. Accept that true joy comes from within. Accept that whatever circumstances external forces may bring you, you have the power to always remain self sufficient. You have the power to choose to be joyful. All you have to do is accept the present moment.
Life is about realizing that you cannot control anything but yourself, your own thoughts, actions, reactions and in-actions. It is a beautiful realization. How incredible of a thought. Not to worry about the things which you cannot control. Not to have to worry about the things others do that you don’t agree with. Not to be responsible for them. This is not to say that you don’t care or want to help others, it is only to say that you don’t need to feel guilt or emotional attachment to other people’s choices/lives/emotions. Only be concerned with what YOU can do about it.
Love is the answer to all problems. Love your neighbor as yourself: this is the golden rule. The most important part of that is ‘yourself’. How can you love your neighbor if you cannot first love yourself. You can’t. It is impossible. Until you have accepted yourself for who you are, for where you are at and can find peace in that, you will not be able to free yourself of emotional pain. You will always be looking to external sources or people, who will always eventually let you down. It is too much pressure and responsibility to put on something or someone else. It is not fair to others. Each of us must bear our own cross and take responsibility for ourselves. By doing this, it will allow us to then better understand what it means to love others.
Do not worry about things which do not matter. Realize that the only thing in life that is important is love. Infinite love is the only truth, everything else is only illusion. At the end of your life the only thing that you take with you is the love you created and the love that others have invested in you. You don’t get to take anything else. Not your looks, money, possessions, social status, race, religion, sex, problems, addictions etc. Love is the one thing that binds us all together. It is the fabric of our very existence. Through the darkness, Love is the light. This is what is meant by, ‘god’ is Love. Love is ‘god’. Let Love be your guide. Measure everything in your life through the eyes of Love. Do nothing without it. Surrender to the power of Love. There is nothing greater.
“Death is a stripping away of all that is not you. The secret to life is to “die before you die”–and find that there is no death.”
-Eckhart Tolle
More reading on the pain body. http://www.detoxifynow.com/et_pain_body.html
