It is What it is!

Credits: musingswhileunlearning.com

Acceptance, that all is as it should be, while diligently staying the course and following your inner guidance is the recipe for eternal happiness and well-being.

Sometimes, it is as simple as that. It is what it is. In fact, it has always been like that but when circumstances are in our favour, who cares. No one wants to hear it when things are not too great either. We want what we want and when we want it. We are ready to put in the work. In fact, we have put in a lot of work so when we do not see results the way we expect them, we get frustrated. Worse, if someone less worthy (in our eyes) gets a lot of success, with what we see as mediocre work, we go through phases of anger and self-pity, anxiety and depression depending on many factors.

But, it is what it is! It does not matter whether you disagree; whether you clench your fists and scream "unfair"- it is what it is!

So, what now? Do we give up? No. We just accept things as they are. There is a divine order or for atheists out there, a universal truth. In Hinduism, it is given the term "Sanatana Dharma" or the eternal truth. Basically, it states that everything in the natural world is as it should be. There is a certain order that governs the cosmos and every being and every phenomena in it. It does not matter, if this fact does not sit well with you, for it is what it is. Science may have not been able to explain it, after all, logic fails after a point, but life goes on. A species may come and go but the cosmos remains.

For the longest time as I was growing up, my father would get annoyed at the short cuts I took and would always say, "do not follow the path of least resistance". He was trying to instill in me, determination and hard work. It was needed for that stage of my life perhaps. Now, after nearly five decades on this planet, I have learnt that following the path of least resistance is the path to follow. The Universe is with you, egging you on. So, in the large scheme of things, you go with the flow and let go of control. The easy way out may actually be the way to go. Again, always trust your gut.

Not to misconstrue this as, "I am an alcoholic (or any numbing need we have) and I am going with the flow". Going with the flow is not about carrying on with life in a mindless fashion. Do what needs to be done, to the best of your ability and accept successes and failures alike, not dwelling on either... taking each as an experience from which we learn. 

It seems difficult because the mind plays tricks on us. All our self-esteem woes come back to haunt us, with the first whiff of failure. Let's work on healing that then and not translating that into "we have to constantly control everything to be on top and better than others". Seriously, if we rise above the comparison, that we are fed with from the very beginning of our lives, we would not know what stress is! At least mind created stress, which begins on a mental level and eats into emotional and physical health as well.

Haven't you killed many a dream for fear that you wouldn't be good enough and that you would let people down or be made an example of or be laughed at? We are so afraid of failure that we cannot accept the need to go with the flow. We may have a million clichés, "you win some, you lose some" but they fall on deaf ears when fear of failure, which is basically a fear of being abandoned, unaccepted and judged rises. We do not even realize it.

If we can genuinely understand that we are exactly where we need to be and that we will be brought back on track, over and over again (over lifetimes, if required) till we get it right, we will learn to accept, make peace within ourselves and go with the flow, doing what we need to and with full involvement.

I am sure we will get there. Baby steps is all that we need.

1. Be kind to ourselves. Shut the negative and judgemental voices in our head. Very difficult but with patience, so liberating. Such a beautiful place to be, when your inner dialogue is kind. Even after we think we transform, occasionally, we might slip back to curse ourselves. When you realize it, be kind that you slipped up and see how far you have come. Once this is done, pay it forward. Teach kindness by being the epitome of compassion.

2. Heal the inner child to expedite the above process and make it a permanent change.

3.Do not fall for the comparison game. No praise, no condemnation. All is as it should be.

4. Lighten up. Connect to simple joys. Nature and happy moments.

5. Cultivate gratitude.

6. Know that there is always enough for everyone. What about the the impoverished? What you need to see and understand is that  on one level, they are destitute because there are a whole lot of us, who hoard far more than we need. But you know what, on another level, that is Karma. They are where they are meant to be, learning what they need to learn and so are we, with a different set of problems to handle. The wheel of fortune is always turning. We will all have our ups and downs till we learn to align with the Universe.

Life is cyclical. Breaking out of it is possible only when we go with the flow and follow our heart and inner guidance. It is what it is!!