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You are not a drop in the ocean. You are an entire ocean, in the drop. ~Rumi
Positive outlook towards life is one of my greatest strengths. It ensures I stay hopeful even in the face of extreme negativity, which in the world today seems to be a constant growing thing.
It could be that this world had this negativity, this pervasive evil all around but as I grew older, I began to take note of it. It may be that in this world of instant knowledge gains, and constant deluge of information, it is easier to feel this cancerous chaos. It feels like the chaos of civilizations, where the world is reverting to the survival of the richest, most powerful and the lesser beings caught within that struggle are being crushed by the mammoth ambitions of those wielding the power.
Rumi said it best. 'You are not a drop in the ocean. You are an entire ocean, in the drop' is my mantra for dealing with this. A few things that help me meet that mantra are:
1. Keep the positivity going: Irrespective of your situation, know that you are better than a million others who would LOVE to be where you are. This helps when you know that your very worst day is better than someone's very best one. It grounds you and lets you focus on the positive. In any situation, try to think of the pros not the cons. Once you start this way of thinking, you will notice the difference in the way you evaluate everything around you.
2. Be grateful: Keeping the context of your life as compared to others is what keeps a person grateful and humble. I may be ONE person but being grateful for friends, coworkers, and FAMILY is the single most important choice I can make. It will color everything I do in a minute, a day, a week.
3. Keep in touch with your feelings: Before giving birth, I thought keeping my innermost feelings hidden was the way to go. Having kids changed all of that. That is the single most terrifying thing you can do in your life. To have someone so dependent on you for everything means you are constantly struggling with feelings of insecurity, being overwhelmed and plain scared. However, being successful at it despite your insecurity means that you are braver for it. Keeping your soul intact means letting out your feelings and just FEEL.
4. Be Aware: This world may be in strife and turmoil but it has a lot of beauty to offer. However, if you are scared of opening up, you will miss the beauty in the middle of the ugliness. For every story, I hear of a war torn place, of unfairness or evil, I hear ten more of people trying to battle it, of reaching out to help, of just being there with a kind word. If I never try to listen, I will never hear anything.
‘Unfold your own myth.’, as Rumi said. If you want to leave a mark in this world, YOU can. However, you have to start TRYING first.
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