How to remain free of stress
We can name the current era as one of stress and depression because almost everyone talks more about their problems than anything else. This does not happen automatically, we are also responsible for it. The solution is also fortunately within us and only we can make it happen.
I have often wondered why some so-called successful people are the unhappiest of all and go to psychotherapists as part of their routine. Even the World Health Organisation notes this as one of the pandemics in our time.
I think this is because we have prioritised material success over mental health and happiness. Happiness requires focussing on things that are positive. My late grandmother would always tell us not to discuss negative things, especially when going to bed. She made us recite the name of the divine, a shloka or hymn, and told us to do this always wherever we were. This then became a habit. It is truly something I have told my children too. Now, even the World Health Organisation recommends we give more importance to making our thoughts happy and positive for enjoying good health. Health after all does not come automatically. We need to work on ourselves to make it happen and believe me, it is possible.
There is too much focus on negative things in the news which then becomes entrenched in our psyche. It is not that we should ignore the wrongdoings but we should not give too much importance to them and instead focus on all that is right in our lives and in the world to remain happy. We can do this only by becoming more inward-looking. This happens when we look at pertinent examples.
Why is it that we see the most happiness on a baby’s face especially when it is in its mother’s arms? This is because it knows that the mother would take care of everything. We need to understand that we too have a divine parent who is always taking care of us. With this in our mind, we can indeed remain happy, secure, and happy. It is a fact that people with more problems are happier than those with more privileges as they keep connecting to the divine. It is time that the so-called privileged people also take a leaf from their book. This does not mean we should look for material problems. What this means is that we should understand that we are always protected by the divine and should be thankful for it. We need to make a pattern of life that is conducive to keeping this connection active and functional. Just like our jobs, our life too needs some thought and planning.
Some things we could do are join groups of like-minded people and take part in activities like chanting, singing hymns and praising the Divine for all that He has bestowed on us. This automatically leads to gratitude which then creates bubbles of happiness all around us. These bubbles join to create a world of happiness and transfer our positive vibes around the world.
By Jamuna Rangachari
