Guiding Light: A Stable Centre In An Imperfect Life

Nobody gets to choose the season they are living in. Right? We all are well experienced that how a promotion arrives just as a parent falls ill. A friendship ends in the same month a new one begins. In short, some years give, and some years take, and neither asks our permission. Our life itself moves through various cycles, where there are times of joy and times of sorrow, beginnings and endings, expansion and withdrawal. But the fact remains, we cannot hold on to one season forever. The wisdom thus lies in learning how to remain centered while the seasons change. But staying centered is not something we can do in the middle of the storm if we have never practiced it in calm weather. Perhaps that is why silence becomes so powerful. When we sit quietly, even for a few moments, we step away from the noise of the world and return to the point within ourselves where there is stillness. In that stillness, we do not have to prove anything to anyone. We do not have to compete with anyone. We simply have to be who we are. And from that place, we can see things more clearly. We can ask ourselves: What really matters to me? What am I holding on to unnecessarily? Which relationships of mine need more love? Which expectations need to be released? Am I living according to my values, or merely according to what the world expects from me? These questions rarely get answered in a hurry. But even asking them honestly begins to loosen things that have remained tight for years.

The art of balance is not about creating a perfect life. It is about creating a stable center point within an imperfect life. When I know who I am, I don’t need the world to constantly remind me of my worth. When I experience peace within, I don’t have to demand that every circumstance outside me be peaceful. When I know my inner value, I can appreciate success without becoming arrogant and face failure without becoming broken.A tree does not stop the wind. It simply grows roots deep enough so that the wind passes through without uprooting it. Similarly, our circumstances will keep changing, as they always have. What we can build is the depth beneath them. So let the seasons turn. Let some be generous and some be hard. The one thing worth working on, every single day, is the ground we stand on while they do.

(The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, USA, UK, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Mauritius. To date 10,000+ Published Columns have been written by him. You can reach out to him at nikunjji@gmail.com or visit www.brahmakumaris.com)