We have a million ways to make ourselves unhappy and remarkably few ways to make ourselves happy. On the other hand, if we can have many ways to make ourselves happy and fewer ways to make ourselves unhappy, then, life will be uplifting.
Why is a person in sorrow? Why does he get trapped in sorrow?
Life is changing; it is in a flux. Happenings happen, and life is a flow. You have to accept this. When you cling to this changing world, then you are in conflict and hence in sorrow. Body is changing. Even you grow older, if you cling to the idea of being young, then you are in conflict and hence you are in sorrow. Existence has no sorrow. It is just a happening. You cling to your idea, and that idea is in conflict. Your sorrow is psychological rather than existential.
Change the way you look at life. You think the world is real in the sense you expect it to be permanent. Then you suffer. Wise people have said life is like a river. It is a flow. In language, nouns exist but in metaphysics, such nouns are only verbs. For example, people say it is a tree. But it should be “treeing” since it is growing. But language does not permit it.
Existence has become sorrow because you operate from ego. Ego is misery. Lack of clarity leads you to misery. First illusion is the world is static, and the second illusion is, “I” am static. Understand that even the “I” is a movement.
How to live a wise life?
This is an enormous topic. Let me unfold one fundamental concept, namely, ‘Let the earth and space meet’. Earth is the situation of life. The experience of life is like the earth. How do we meet the situation of life? We meet it with our conclusions, opinions, dogmas, fears and hurts. We are nothing but a bundle of hurts, fear, anger, and expectations. Hence, the self is closed to its programming of hurt and so on. With this closed consciousness, when we meet the situations of life, symbolically called “earth,” then there is bound to be disorder or conflict.
You could be working in your office, kitchen or garden, and if you don’t feel a healthy attitude in what you are doing, then you are living a chaotic life. If you learn to meet the situations of life (earth) with space (consciousness) which is open, and not closed with your points of view or your hurts, then you are relating directly with life. Space has a quality of openness. Like space, are you open? Is your consciousness open? With openness, space, if you meet life, earth, then in that contact, a pure, intuitive feeling emerges. A direct contact happens. When you meet situations of life with this openness, then you are not limited by situations. When you are not limited by situations, then you are not a victim to the situations of life. When you are not a victim, then you are a victor.
Most of us are limited by an experience because the person who is experiencing — the experiencer — is limited and hence gets limited by the experience. But if the one who meets the experience is open like space, then one does not get limited by the experience. Openness has the quality of no limitation. Hence, let space and earth meet — then heaven and earth will meet. This is wise living.
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