Art by Melody Khachikian
The original articles were published in Persian at Fogholadeh Magazine.
Translated into English by Karine Armen
No. 26 Rushing and Impatience
Rushing and patience are two opposite feelings that we deal with daily. I start with the following quotation, “Rushing is the work of the devil, and patience is the work of the angels.
In most religions, devils are the symbol of bad behavior, and angels are the symbol of goodness. In psychology, they are known as negative and positive forces.
Half of our energy comes from our emotions and the other half from our physical self. These two kinds of energy are complementary and turn the wheel of our lives.
Rushing is different than performing fast. Doing a job fast and efficiently is due to positiveness. Rushing is because of negativity and restlessness.
The emotions that come from our Positive Channels are all healthy, energizing, and productive. We can improve them to continue our lives nicely. We can perform our daily tasks and chores with confidence, satisfaction, alertness, and quality. We can feel satisfied and successful.
The emotions that come from the Negative Channels are destructive. Their followers are restless, tired, and dissatisfied with life. They do not know the root of the problem. The function of the Negative Channel is to destroy. These people have learned the negativity due to their circumstances. They don’t know how to get out of their sadness and negativity. They are unhappy with their situation.
The negative people need to learn how to get out of their situations. Their negativity is contagious and affects vulnerable people. That creates a hostile environment and society.
The way out of this negativity trap is self-awareness and self-help. Patience and knowledge of positive emotions can help us to reach our goals successfully.
I hope our inner angels will win. We will live free from pain that is due to lack of knowledge.
January 10, 1988
27 Sleep
Sleep is a natural and pleasant feeling. There are two kinds of sleep: natural and healthy sleep and avoidance.
Avoidance sleep is the one we choose when we want to run away from dealing with life. We feel tired and restless after waking up. The bed becomes our rescue shelter. We don’t want to face our anxieties, restlessness and anger. We spend hours in bed wasting time and energy instead of dealing with our problems.
Over the centuries, we have improved our lives. We have more comfort because of better technology, but we don’t have peace and happiness. Until the day we genuinely know our inner world and are able to change the bad habits, we cannot be happy.
Before electricity and lighting were invented, people went to sleep after dark. We came up with the idea of eight hours of sleep. But in today’s world, we need more time to take care of things. We feel too guilty about sleeping and think we are wasting time.
At the same time, we want to sleep enough, and we struggle between doing a lot or getting rest. This inner struggle and contradiction causes anxiety and insomnia.
We need to accept that it is better to have a restful sleep rather than eight hours of sleep. It is not the duration of the sleep that is important; it is the quality that matters.
Change of bad habits and fulfilling our inner talents can bring inner peace. We need to live in the present. We can remember the good memories and have a positive outlook. Then, we can be free from fatigue.
January 17, 1988
28 Loneliness
We are born alone, and we die alone. We die alone, but we can not live alone. It is during our social interactions, cooperation, collaborations, and friendships that we feel happy.
“When we are with people, we feel alive.” is the quotation I want to begin with today. Family life is the foundation of society. Society consists of families. Families consist of individuals. Each individual is valuable. We need self-esteem, self-confidence, and peace of mind. We can transfer our peace to our children by our good behavior and kindness. Gradually, we can have a healthy society.
In our culture, we have learned to please others. We honor our guests with excellent hospitality, but we could be more pleasant to our family members and ourselves. “Brighten the street and darken the house” is a famous saying in this regard.
We need to use positive words and drop foul language. By appreciating the little stuff of life, we grow a sense of gratitude. We become aware of our feelings of fear, worry, sadness, and happiness. We can learn how to use each feeling positively in different situations. We can become a sophisticated person. We would have the knowledge of how to speak, how to perform at work, and how to socialize and be a productive person.
By using our inner strengths and talents, we can fill our time nicely and not feel empty. Then, we will not have a fear of loneliness. We can distinguish between loneliness and being alone. We will be at peace with it.
January 24, 1988
No. 29 Language is the key.
Self-help needs listening and speaking. Half of our being consists of emotions and the inner world. Our thoughts are based on language. To have inner peace, we need to learn how to speak nicely with a pleasant tone of voice.
Changing intonations and projecting smiles in our voices can help us to be positive and relaxed. Language is the key to our hearts. We can learn how to use this key. By using these techniques, we contribute to our own mental peace. We can stay away from anxiety and restlessness by changing our use of words.
Whenever we get upset with our friends, we either cut our relationship without saying anything or we get aggressive and use foul language. Either way, the result is negative. We may stay quiet to avoid conflict, but we still feel hurt. We do not deal with the situation, and we carry the pain, which then changes to deep wounds.
When we show anger, we allow the Negative Channel to be in control. We can become a nervous person that people avoid. We don’t know why we have lost our friendships.
The healthy way to deal with conflict is to analyze it. What was the issue? Who was the person who caused the pain? We need self-reflection. Did I cause the conflict? If we did not create the conflict, then we need to talk to that person politely. This way, we can prevent deeper wounds. We can practice self-talk using nice words whenever we think.
January 31, 1988
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