Why You Feel Sad(And What To Do About It)
Being happy is easier than you think!
I have two questions for you.
When you’re sitting idle, what is it that you think about?
Do you think about your past,your future or do you live in the present moment?
Unless you were born with superpowers, you hardly stay in the present moment.
Try sitting idle. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
The Past
But is thinking about the past any good?
Nope. You can't change your past. You don't have a time machine to change it. And Time Machine is not available on Amazon.
When you think about your past, you usually think about your failures, and the bad luck you went through.
It’s like you love watching this depressing movie. If such a movie was ever released, you wouldn’t watch it. And yet, you keep watching it in your mind again and again.
Stop it. Thinking about your past won’t change anything. It won’t bring you good luck. In fact, it’ll ruin your mood. It’ll sadden you.
The Future
What about the future?
Many people recommend thinking about the future. But it’s a waste of time. Why? Because the future is unknown.
No one knows about the future. Not the astrologer. Not the lady with the shiny globe. Not your football-crazy friend who can’t even predict which football team will win!
Many countries have faced unexpected heatwaves. Many have faced unexpected floods. Covid. No one could predict that.
So, there’s no point in thinking about the future.
The Present
Which leaves us with, the present. The present moment.
This is the only place you should be in.
Why?
Because it’s the only place you have control over. You only have this moment. So why not enjoy it!
But there’s a slight problem. All our lives, we have either lived in the past or the present. The mind has been conditioned to never stay in the present moment. So living in the present moment is as tough at looking at a pizza and not eating it!
How To Live In The Present Moment
The truth is that you will never be able to live in the present moment 24/7.
But you can live in the present moment for a considerable amount of time.
It’s pretty simple.
Eckhart Tolle, the great spiritual guru, wrote about this method in his bestselling book, “The Power of Now”.
All you have to do is,
1. sit in a comfortable position
2. Close your eyes.
3. Say in your mind, “I wonder what the next thought will be” and observe your thoughts.
Once a thought appears, observe it. Then the thought will disappear. Now once again, ask yourself the same question. Repeat the process. Do this for 10 minutes.
During this process, thoughts will appear. They’ll come and go. Don’t worry. The point of meditation is not to stop these thoughts. The point is to observe them. Once you observe them, they disappear.
After you’re done with a meditation session, you’ll feel much better. You’ll feel relaxed, happy, calm.
And if you do the meditation regularly, you’ll be able to live in the present moment. And once that happens, you’ll experience more happiness than before.
Conclusion
Living in the present moment is underrated. It isn't considered important. But it’s as important as drinking water.
So, don’t sleep on it. Realize that living in the present moment is the best gift you can gift yourself, and work towards it.