The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

–          Marcus Aurelius

Recently while surfing through old papers, I came across a beautiful story. A tale of hope and optimism in the toughest times. The stints in life when one feels low and hopeless and gets critical of everything around him; and then how someone can give another perspective to the same situation and give meaning and purpose to the meaningless battle of life. It was about how even in the hardest of times we can still find and appreciate the small moments and vouch for other things that we never gave an eye on. A story of a man who was undergoing a rough terrain in life, completely disheartened and anxious. Since the beginning of the year, he was bearing losses in his personal, professional, and financial life and could not find solace in anything around, an unhappy soul. He loved his job but had to retire due to some reasons and was jobless. He was very close to his father; they were like friends, unfortunately, he passed away after a long medical illness. Soon after his son met with a serious car accident. The car was damaged completely, crushed to scrap, and his son also bore injuries. Every day was spiralling in a downward direction making it unpleasant and painful. All these events of life were making him dispirited and adding to the negativity and sadness in life. Since his young days, he had a habit of journaling his feelings, a way of venting out. Especially these days, he was writing more, and his loving wife could make out his anguish. His writings were full of complaints and misery, there was no hope only pain. Expressing his feeling gave him a voice but with no hope. The more he penned the sadder he felt. One day his wife decided to read the journal. At night when he went to sleep, she read the diary he use to write and was shocked. She never realised the deep sadness he was keeping in him. It was a difficult phase but not as scary as he perceived. After a deep thought, she wrote a letter addressing her husband and shared how she is managing herself emotionally in this phase of life. She revealed that even though she is also sad about all that has happened and it was never easy for her as well, but we must move on. Everything in life is not in our control but how we decide to interpret it can change the perception of those experiences/ incidents. She further said that parents are the most precious possession of life, their presence is like big shady trees where we are always protected and happy, their values are the life lessons and the assets, but the truth of life cannot be denied. Your dad was undergoing a serious medical condition and was in pain. Heavenly powers decided to take him along and ease him into a calm state. He passed away peacefully with his loved ones around.

Secondly, she said you have been tirelessly working for so many years for the family, it was unfortunate that you lost your job for some reasons but on the other hand, if we see it as an opportunity and God’s way of making you spend quality time with your father in his last days. The contentment of having a son by one side is priceless. You were blessed with that chance and you relived those beautiful old days with your dad. Now you can relax and start with some part-time jobs as we are all secured for the future because of your wise decisions.

Thirdly, though your car had a bad accident and is severely damaged; we should be grateful that our son escaped it with minor injuries. He was behind the wheels and the condition of our car indicates the miracle of High Energy that saved him, rest insurance company will take care of the damages. So life has been on its test drive with us and we are learning and moving.

Such a powerful message, her beliefs instantly gave a ray of hope in the dark time. Life is always a roller coaster ride, with its ups and downs. Our experiences are the output of how we perceive our events in life. We have the power to make our life and our experiences enjoyable and creative. The optimism that his wife carried fuelled her with energy and strength to face tough situations in a thoughtful way. Overthinking and negativity dwarf our minds. The mantra of life “Be Positive or Stay Positive” can only be achieved if we check the thoughts that we give to ourselves in a situation. If we get stuck and keep on dwelling on the down times in life, the beauty of life will be lost. It is a conscious choice that we make. We all want happiness and peace of mind however it is only possible if we try to see our events of life from a broader perspective. Happiness is a state of mind and can be seen in the smallest of things; provided we are mindful of it. Instead, we keep our Mind-full and hence cannot see the small joys. The hardest falls of life can be easily sailed out with mindfulness and gratitude. Else we will drown ourselves in the ocean of problems and sadness accompanied by depression, anxiety along with other psychosomatic symptoms. A feeling of gratitude added to the somersault of life can bring the shades of happiness, confidence, and vigour back in life. So, let’s make a choice: Glass Half Full or Empty.