Almost three and half year ago was a new beginning for me. It was not a day of getting married or finding a new job, or hitting any lottery – it was simply a day of realization. A realization so profound yet so simple that life became joy after that. A realization that made life so rich that a day felt like a month well lived.
Like most of us, I started off as quite a family and society man and followed my set of religious practices. Overtime though, I started realizing that “I” was lost in the “We” of the family, society and religion and the purpose of these institutions was lost in the rituals. So in some corner of my heart there is a little skepticism of all these collective concepts in general and religion in particular.
Furthermore, I did as expected dabble in the spiritual world of the books and ashrams a bit. It really helped me peacefully go inside of my own heart and discover some new things. At the same time after a while I did not feel like continuing to be immersed in that world. Once I found the territory of my heart, the need to be in the outwardly spiritual world diminished. So you can be assured that I am not talking of nirvana or any enlightenment here in the spiritual sense.
At this point I wanted a way forward, a way that would put the individual at the center and yet benefit the society. A way that would create joy and harmony first for the individual and then for the society at large. A way that would be simple yet effective. A way that could be relied on in almost any situation – whether it be work or personal life. A way that would be as effective in most complex business situation as for teaching your children how to live life.
Opening to the heart
We have all been taught to “use our brains”, “think about it”, “analyze it” and what not. The society has always put the mind on a pedestal. We are also told to have more data, have a business plan and a life plan. Somewhere in all this the most powerful aspect of what makes us human – our heart – is lost.
About four years ago I attended a 3-day workshop called ‘Opening to the heart’ . These 3-days were started off very uncomfortably as I was pushed to do exercises that made me “feel”, “touch”, “sense” rather than think! Soon it went from uncomfortable to so natural and so human. The group started off as strangers and ended by feeling the human bond. In the subsequent days to come I became aware of the difference between the mind and the heart. I started making a conscious decision to give my heart a little more chance and the results were amazing.
Joy through Love
We all are chasing happiness, even when we are running after money we are doing so because we believe that it will make us happy in the end. When we are in a rat race, we are under the impression that competing and succeeding will make us happy and we forget the simple joy of creating and doing something valuable. We start focusing on getting results and forget the joy of the journey, the discovery, the process itself. When we relate with others, our mind has a goal, a payoff, a positive outcome in mind and we leave little room for the unknown to positively surprise us. We look for lovers and life partners in people we meet and forget that many can be amazing friends.
So what does it have to do with the “new way”. It does! what if we did all the things we did – simply for the love of doing. We worked for the joy of working and creating, we met people and interacted with them for the joy of knowing them. That is the new way, a way where “love creates joy” where we act out of “love rather than fear”.
Sounds idealistic and impractical? Of course it does! What about earning a living? What about making sure people don’t take advantage of you in the big bad world? What about business deals, they have nothing to do with love? In the last three and half years I have worked on apply this new way to all these situations and was positively surprised by the results. By the ease with which life unfolds when we are able to follow our heart, when we can interact in any situation with love rather than fear.
This blog is about such thoughts, stories and anecdotes where love overcomes fear, welcome to the world where Love creates a Joyful world.
Hey Dear,
First time I am visiting this page.. you are toh any which ways great… keep going 😉
True to core….unfortunately some of us go a full circle and then accept that its the heart, the subconcious ,the emotions like happyness,love and affection that helps us enjoy life at each stange and also brings best results weather in personal or professional life…all the rituals were created at that juncture with appropriate reasons we follow them blindly with false sense of security..Grt page…Look forward for more and more on the page :))
The first paragraph is so very right.I had a similar realisation as well,but sometimes brain takes the upper hand again and its a tough battle to regain the lost land!