Surrender to Positivity

Whilst attending my usual Friday Yoga classes, I listened closely to what my instructor said to us.
Much of it laid in the words of,
"Inner peace is the absence of internal and external conflict..."
Fashion, as it is seen, is very much my passion, but I think there's more to life than style and what goes into creating a wardrobe for the dreary winter to come. I keep speaking about being happy and ways of achieving it because nowadays, being happy seems to not come forth as something easy to do, like putting on a pair of socks. So much surrounds our everyday lives that trying to maintain a healthy level of happiness can actually feel more like a chore than a natural occurrence.

More often than not, when we do feel like we are in that state and awareness of bliss, either circumstances come to change and devour our newly acquired happiness, or, someone comes and WE let them take it from us. Nobody can take what we don't give them. So if that's the case, why do we become depleted so quickly of our happiness and positivity?

Multiple reasons are the ultimate cause of our unhappiness, some are exterior factors and most are in fact, internal. Things will happen. A loved one will pass away or a situation will arise where we would have to give something up to fulfill someone else's happiness and not our own. These are the external factors, or, factors we can't control. We as humans like the feeling of being or having control of things and situations. Once we lose that control, we lose a sense of power we thought we once had. With power comes superiority. We want to be in a higher status in society, but even in the most minute things, like games or even a conversation. Because our minds are trained in such way, we have to learn and teach our brain to not respond negatively when certain circumstances arise. When we have such loss of power, we feel we have lowered in status, thus, feeling weaker and distressed. 

We have to learn and simply surrender to the self.

"This surrender, by breaking the chain of distracting thoughts, increases the intensity of one's concentration...surrendering to oneself is essential to revealing the soul. It leads to inner peace, answering the deepest need of mankind, and brings fulfillment to the soul." -B.K.S. Iyengar

We need to learn to let go of what causes ache, pain, anger, jealousy, torment, sadness, and hunger of greed to our souls because it is then we can reveal to ourselves what really makes us happy, what really means the most to us, and what is it that we need, want, and cater to the soul thereafter. Many things in life will undoubtedly bring us down:

• Deteriorating health
• Loss of a loved one
• Break-ups
• Rejection, either from another person or of oneself
• Money issues
• Discontent from anything life throws at us..

A great way to reveal to yourself what you really want and how you can be happy is to make a list of what it is that is making you unhappy. A list like the one above is appropriate. Once you have created your list, glance over it and on the side of each one, mark whether you believe it to be an external conflict or one that is internal. Many of the issues that drain us from our happiness are actually internal, our souls try to constantly battle our negative feelings from our stresses. By doing so, we become overwhelmed with a heavy feeling and we feel we can't move on. Once we reenter positivity into our souls AND our mind (both soul and mind have to work together), we can have an overwhelming sensation of happiness radiating from every part of our body rather than being drowned in tears. 

With the internal and external conflicts written on the sides, ask yourself how you can overcome such conflicts, do you have to speak to a family member to get a certain situation resolved? Do you have apply to jobs to finally make a living? A lot of problems can easily be resolved by simply and honestly not being lazy. Yes, it might sound a bit odd and quite off, but learning to train our brain to think properly does actually take quite a bit of effort. If we've been used to always thinking and feeling so negatively, we have to train our brain to start thinking positively so we can feel that same way too. 

Our brain is a mighty and powerful machine. Whatever we put in it can have detrimental and severe consequences on ourselves, depending how we interpret that information. If we take a certain situation and immediately take it into a negative context, our brain will get accustomed to such an erroneous way of thinking, We are only humans and tend to feel a lot. Sometimes those feelings can block our paths to positive thinking, especially if we've been hurt hard. That is why we have to train ourselves to simply find happiness, wherever that might be and surrender to it once we find it.

We can all be happy. Taking a stroll with the cool, autumn breeze whisking the face. Playing with a pet or finding a close friend(s) to enjoy lunch with. There's much to be happy for. Even the most saddened, sulky person in the world can name a few things he/she is happy about. Sure, there are things that can be quite difficult to deal with as mentioned before, such as the loss of a loved one or failing health. It is difficult to cope with such situations and can make the most happiest person in the world cry for days, months, or years, but you know what, that's alright. Part of being happy is being able to let ourselves go in whatever means our souls need to facilitate ourselves in being happy. If we need to cry, let ourselves weep and cry for hours. Only then we will feel relieved and stronger to move on. That loved one will no longer be suffering and leaves behind great memories for one to cherish. Having poor health weakens the body, but we can learn to strengthen the heart which then strengthens the mind. If we feel we have no worth in living this life, why not create something to look forward to, something that excites the soul. Planning a trip with friends ,learning a new hobby, or visiting new places create a reason to keep looking forward to living positively. Indulging in materialistic things as a mean to cater to your sadness is not fruitful and is only a temporary fix to you sadness. Experiences that create memories are not only long-lasting, but can create new bonds with new people. Opening your arms and inviting positive vibes from positive people is a quicker and healthier remedy that will help you maintain joy and long-lasting love.

So I know I spoke about a multitude of ways to reach that state of happiness, but in reality, each and every one of us in the end is the ultimate controller of our happiness and whether we want to be or not. We can all turn a negative situation into a positive one by having a better outlook about it. We can be nicer to the people around us and forgive and forget. We can pray for others and their happiness instead of cursing and wishing revenge. We can do simple favors that will leave a positive impression on someone instead of ignoring and going about your day. There are many ways to make others and yourself happy. You are the person that can bring a smile to a person who is in need of one. You can resolve a dispute with a friend instead of breaking bonds. You can be the one who brings up people instead of bringing them down. You will see that once you begin to change your way of thinking and the way you act, you will see a drastic difference in how your life plays out. You will see things more positively and your actions will be much more fruitful. You will not only see and do good, but in the end, you will feel good too. 

After reading this very long article, just think....can I not speak bad about someone for a whole week? If so, how about for a month? Year? How can I bring happiness to myself and keep it? 

Once you are happy, surrender to it and spread it everywhere you go.

Pictures Courtesy of Google