Contentment, peace, prosperity

"Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life, when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?"

- The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama said "from the moment of our birth...." I would go further, add and affirm that from the instant when knowledge dawns on our parents of our conception; we are lavished with love, and loving care. This affection, attachment, fondness, goodwill, kindness, liking, tenderness, and warmth, continues until they depart this world; and may possibly endure even thereafter, though we may not experience it. Such is the attention paid to us.

Such is the love showered on us. Hence, for us to attain contentment, peace, and prosperity in life; it is necessary to be generous with our love for all life forms, benevolent, and of help to others, not only in our prayers, but also in our daily lives.

If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them. Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion, are the things, which renew humanity.

Whether our action is wholesome or unwholesome depends on whether that action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined state of mind. It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness, whereas an undisciplined mind leads to suffering. In fact, to bring about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.

A man is born alone, and dies alone. He experiences the good and the bad consequences of his karma alone. He goes alone to hell, heaven, or the Supreme abode, or wherever destined.

Humanity

In the meanwhile, all of us: mankind, the whole of humanity, is for ever in search of, contentment, peace, prosperity. Peace, plenty, and serenity reign not externally, but within ourselves. It is futile to search the world for it. A less selfish and a more principled life, a life dedicated to the happiness of others, will definitely lead you to it. In fact, there are simple ways to achieve contentment, peace, and prosperity. They do not come, packed in expensive packages. They are within everyone's grasp.

These simple methods, suggested below, could make the difference to your life: Start spending time with the right people: Keep the company you enjoy; be with people who love and appreciate you, and who encourage you to improve in healthy and exciting ways.

They are the ones who make you feel more alive, and not only embrace who you are now, but also embrace and embody who you want to be, unconditionally. It sounds harsh, but you cannot keep every friend you have ever made. People and priorities change. As some relationships fade, others will grow. Appreciate the possibility of new relationships as you naturally let go of old ones that no longer work.

Trust your judgement. Embrace new relationships, knowing that you are entering into unfamiliar territory. Be ready to learn, be ready for a challenge, and be ready to meet someone that might just change your life forever. Start cheering for other people's victories. Start noticing what you like about others and tell them. Having an appreciation for how amazing the people around you are, leads to good places - productive, fulfilling, peaceful places.

Start facing your problems head on: Your problems, does not define you, but how you react to them and recover from them does. Problems will not disappear unless you take action. Do what you can, when you can, and acknowledge what you have done. It is all about taking baby steps in the right direction, inch by inch. These inches count, they add up to yards and miles in the long run. But, above all, be honest about what is right, and what is not.

Achieve

Be honest about what you want to achieve and who you want to become. Be honest with every aspect of your life, always; because you are the one person you can forever count on. Search your soul, for the truth, so that you truly know who you are.

Once you do, you will have a better understanding of where you are now and how you got here, and you will be better equipped to identify where you want to go and how to get there. Your needs matter.

If you do not value yourself, look out for yourself, and stick up for yourself, you are sabotaging yourself. Start noticing and living in the present: Right now is a miracle. Right now is the only moment that is guaranteed to you. Right now is life.

So stop thinking about how great things will be in the future. Stop dwelling on what did or did not happen in the past. Learn to be in the 'here and now' and experience life as it is happening. Appreciate the world for the beauty that it holds, right now. Remember, that mistakes are the stepping stones to progress.

Learning

If you are not failing from time to time, you are not trying hard enough and you are not learning. Take risks, stumble, fall, and then get up and try again. Appreciate that you are pushing yourself, learning, growing, and improving. Noteworthy achievements are, generally accomplished, at the end of a long road of failures. One of the 'mistakes' you fear might just be the link to your greatest achievement. The problem with many of us is that we think we will be happy when we reach a certain level in life - a level we see others operating at.

Unfortunately, it takes awhile before you get there, and when you get there, you will likely have a new destination in mind. You will end up spending your whole life working toward something new without ever stopping to enjoy the things you have now. So take a quiet moment every morning when you first awake to appreciate where you are and what you already have.

Start giving your ideas and dreams a chance: Life, is rarely about getting a chance; it is about taking a chance. You will never be 100 p.c. sure it will work, but you can always be 100 p.c. sure doing nothing will not work. Most of the time, you just have to go for it. No matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should be. Either you succeed or you learn something.

When things are hard, and you feel down; take a few deep breaths, and look for the silver linings, those small glimmers of hope. Remind yourself that you can and will grow stronger from these hard times. Remain conscious of your blessings and victories - all the things in your life that are right. Focus on what you have, not on what you have not. Remember, 'perfect' is the enemy of 'good.'

The above are small and easy steps to achieve contentment, peace and prosperity. They are not complicated; is within everyone's grasp, and are not difficult to follow. All it requires is being honest with yourself, being true to your own conscience.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

For views, reviews, encomiums, and brickbats:[email protected]