‘How to face tough times?’ – Is that on your mind too?

What I’ve discovered is that, regardless of the method you choose to use to live a positive life—whether it’s breathing control, meditation, affirmations, or something else entirely — the key component is always ‘intent’. Think about it – you intend to do this and you intend to do that. You can only genuinely join the “be positive” movement when you have a strong intention. Even though breathing is a very simple process to regulate, you will frequently forget to do so or lose your breathing rhythm in various situations. The same is true of other practices like meditation. Your momentum wanes. But had you had that strong intent, you would have still maintained the rhythm and practice. It all begins with intent. In fact it might now be wrong to say that it ends with intent. I really can’t stress enough how important ‘intent’ is.

This unwavering intent comes from wisdom. At first, you might attempt to garner this wisdom by seeking superficial responses to questions such as ‘How to face tough times?’. You could attempt to apply all of your tricks in a mechanical manner. Until, somehow, the true wisdom eventually seeps in — that is, you are the awareness “watching” events happen. This awareness cannot come until you contemplate even deeper about who you are and start questioning your existence. This contemplation can only come when you are compelled to, during adverse times. For no other thing on earth would you have delved deep down within yourself to figure out ‘who am I’ or what all this ‘present moment’ thing is about, but for these tough times. Once the focus shifts internal, there arises the space within. This space keeps expanding as you keep the gaze within. Then all sorts of realisations set in be it about the mind, the brain, free will, and more (of course it takes time). You look back and you would realise that there was nothing else that could have been done at that point in time. That you are not the ‘doer’, as Buddha said. Deeds simply happen. Then you start to question your existence and life in general. Until you arrive at the realisation that you are ‘awareness’. There was no one who faulted you. You faulted none. The only thing the fault did was bring you to this juncture where you can truly start to grow. That is the first step to realising freedom. What follows is complete freedom. This freedom now gives rise to the unfaltering intent one is looking for. Intention is like that seed which has started sprouting. Any action that you take now is with awareness. You want to dabble in and out of mind, but at will. And from this point on, any method you employ will be more durable and long-lasting since there is a strong intention -> generated by strong awareness -> generated by strong inner contemplation -> created by painful times. So you will perform the same actions, but there is a huge difference in the intent between the pre-realisation and post-realisation times. Now not only do tough times foster a deeper intent, but the space created between you and your mind through contemplative methods like meditation gives you the ability to choose how you respond to situations. There is a deep peace within at this stage created by this space. The positivity gained thereafter is not a result of some force or effort. It just stays there, naturally.  Your intent in turn feeds itself off this positivity.

Going through tough times is the start of your journey into silence. That is the real journey for each of us. But only if weren’t for that one moment which seemed painful at times and that brought you down to your knees, this truth of life would have remained hidden forever. It is the hard times that give you freedom.

So, would you brace the tough times?