All I want is freedom
Is that too much to ask
All I want is freedom
To forget everything in my past
All I want is freedom
To take away all the tears and the pain
All I want is freedom
To never feel that way again
All I want is freedom
To love you my own way
All I want is freedom
To make all my fears go away
All I want is freedom
To say “I love you”
All I want is freedom
To hear you say “I love you too”
–Christal Carpenter
The story of Malala Yousafzai literally makes me cry. The bravery of this young girl, still only 15, is beyond imagination. In 2007, terrorism took over the Swat region of Pakistan [where Malala is from], with constant attacks on the citizens and children of the region. In 2009, the Taliban issued a warning that girls – Read More –
DEAR SAGE: There is this girl in my grade and she is so mean to me! She talks behind my back, she laughs at whatever I do! When I saw her at pinkberry a frozen yogurt place she acted so nice because my mom was there. She is so popular so everybody likes her. Now she turned everybody against me. What should I do?
DEAR NICE GIRL: I am sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this type of situation can happen all throughout life because the girl you describe is probably very unhappy. Because she is not happy with herself, she tries to make you miserable too. You may never understand why she is unhappy and treating you poorly, but that is okay. What you can control is how you react to her.
My advice is that the best thing you can do is to smile when she laughs at you and simply walk away. Don’t let her actions control you! Bullies may have some attention for a while, but eventually, people will want to spend their time with someone who is nicer. So you should focus on being your wonderful self and not worry about this mean girl!
All living things have a spirit. Created by our Creator, we share a bond with all things living. One fully understood rule about wild animals is that you do not mess with a cub unless you want to face the full wrath of the mother. If we do not protect our children, who will? – Read More –
As children of the Creator, we have the power to create our own Heaven or Hell on Earth. The following Zen parable illustrates: A criminal, well known for his savagery, came to the young monk and demanded that he teach him about Heaven and Hell. The young monk replied, “I will teach you nothing. You – Read More –
We all have a seed of anger in the depth of our consciousness. Even the Buddha said that a monk has the right to be angry, but not for more than one night. The goal is not to suppress our anger, but to take care of it…to heal it…through mindfulness.
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment, he needs help.
If we think of anger as a seed, it is watered through what we consume with our mouth, eyes, ears, and consciousness. What we eat, see on TV, or hear in conversation can be toxic. It may contain anger or frustration, which you may ingest and express later on. If you drink alcohol mindfully, you can understand that it creates suffering. The intake of alcohol causes disease to the body and mind, and results in deaths on the road. Even the habit energy that is formed by seeing a parent constantly react with anger can be transmitted. We have to live in such a way that we stop consuming the things that poison us and intoxicate us.
Most of the time, anger is born from a wrong perception. You may have misunderstood what you heard or saw. You may have the wrong idea of what had been said or done. You believe that your misery has been created by another person. But, in fact, when faced with the same situation, another person may not have gotten angry at all. Through your anger, you have created the hell inside you.
When anger is present in us, we should refrain from reacting, namely from speaking or doing anything. We are first responsible for calming our own anger. If you chose to respond to a person that is making you suffer, he will try to find relief by making you suffer more. The result is an escalation of suffering on both sides. Only compassion can stop this vicious cycle.
How to heal anger and find peace:
DEAR SAGE: My life has been speeding by and a lot of changes are occurring and I feel like I am losing control. I have recently made a few bad decisions in my love life and I don’t know if I should be honest about my mistakes or live with the guilt I face.
DEAR FLOWER: This is serious. I can feel your anxiety. I received your letter and literally stopped everything because I want to help you find peace. So before we get started, I want you to please pause everything and take a deep breathe with me [long inhale, hold it…then long exhale]. Slow everything down and allow yourself to relax in this moment. Keep breathing slowly and consciously with me while we work through this. Ok, let’s do it!
Sometimes life really does flying by when we lose connection with our purpose and goals. What are you really trying to do? Where are you really trying to go? What is it that you really want? Despite all of the things going on, take a step back and first reflect on these questions. You can either let change control you or control the changes. When we get lost, sometimes it can feel like we are swept up in a wave and tossed in different directions outside of our control. The reality is that when we don’t have a goal, the waves really do determine our direction. If we know where we want to go, we can start swimming in that direction. You are on the right path because you realize you don’t want to keep floating along. So right now, it’s time to swim to shore, my dear. Let’s get you grounded and address your key concern: your love life…
“I have noticed that people are dealing too much with the negative, with what is wrong…Why not try the other way, to look into the patient and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”
– Thich Nhat Hanh