I recall my childhood as a carefree and happy existence. I remember how family`s got together, sharing a meal, everyone getting along, the kids playing and the parents chatting and laughing.
Nobody seemed burdened by the world and everything in the world felt right.
What happened between childhood and adult life? Why does it suddenly feel like the world is full of stress, burdens, anxieties and so much suffering and pain?
I could not help but ask, “Why does it feel as if the world is suddenly upside down? Is it because of me, or because of other people or has the world gone wrong?”
All these negative thoughts about the state of the world lead me to experience an existential crisis. I started searching for the reason to live, other than just living abundantly, but without inner peace.
Through all this searching, I came to know about a meditation method, which explained that one could live an eternally happy life. I became curious to know how that is possible.
I followed the guided meditation sessions;
I began to understand that I am living in this physical world, which is part of the universe, and the universe is omnipotent and omniscient. Everything in this world comes from this one, original existence, which exists, and therefore is TRUTH. This existence is everlasting, never changing and alive. IT IS the sky which provides us oxygen; the sun that gives life through its energy and the earth that brings forth food, water and materials that sustain my whole being. In fact, everything I need to be alive is provided, freely, by this existence.
I realised, the reason why my childhood felt so carefree and happy, was because as a child, I did not expect the world to be perfect. As long as I had food and I could run and play outside, life was good. Therefore, the world is not the problem.
Recalling my teenage and early adulthood years, I noticed the start of unhappy memories and emotions. I realised it was because I felt the need to compare myself and compete with my peers. As my self-importance grew, so did my anxieties, stress and burdened feelings. I experienced emotions such as pride when I was the best, shame when I did not have what others had, guilt when I was pretentious, anger when I felt people treated me unjust, and many more unhappy emotions.
As I continued to meditate, I realised that it is not the world or other people that are wrong, but myself. For I am living for myself, my needs and desires, my pride and ego.
In addition, it struck me that I am one of many that care only about my own existence and myself. I am living like a leech, sucking resources from earth and polluting it. This creates chaos in nature, leading to natural disasters. Human greed contributes to not care about anything or anyone else; therefore, we start wars and kill each other for natural resources. I realised how I actually contribute to the state of the world through my own actions. My unhappiness and stress is not because of the state of the world, but because of myself living as a slave to my needs and desires.
My whole existence was based on a false perception which is removed from this TRUE existence and opposed to the way of the universe, which is for everything to co-exist and to live according to nature`s flow.
I now know this true existence provides me with everything I need to live. All I need to do is coexist with others and accept other people, the world and myself just as it exists.
As I eliminated my false perception of what existence is all about, I found the happiness I searched for WITHIN ME. Life started to be carefree and joyful again!
Yes, the world will always appear chaotic or unjust as long as humans have a self-centred mind, but this meditation taught me how to detach from my self-centred mind and truly live in the world. Now it is easy to accept and live with others and myself and to accept the world as it is.
If you would like to learn how to meditate, then I invite you to watch the below video.
