When I was in school, we were asked to say the serenity prayer which included the beautiful lines
‘Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change and the courage to change the things I can’.
Now when I read these words, they make much more sense to me than they did before as most of the times the reason for our distress is worrying about the things we can’t change. This one line is also the best lesson for creating Inner Peace.
Just think of it. If we could stop worrying about the things we can’t change how different will our mental state would be. Think about the issues that are bothering you the most right now.
Most of the times we are stressing over things which are out of our hands as if worrying about them will magically make them go away. There are also regrets from the past and the worries of the future which takes a lot of room in our mind.
This not only applies to the circumstances. Many of the times, we feel negative or upset because of the behaviour of the people around us. If we could accept them for who they are, it will ease our misery.
Accepting others for who they are
We find ourselves struggling with the negativity we get from the actions of others because we expect them to behave differently. But, you can only find peace if you choose to stay away from them or accept them for who they are. If you stay in the middle and expect the others to act the way you want them to then you are inviting more hurt in your life.
If we start counting our reasons to be stressed the things that we cannot control will outnumber the things we can control. Stressing about something before it actually takes place, makes you go through it multiple times instead of once.
Now, if you are in a similar situation and are worrying about the things which are out of your control then practice the following:
1) Close your eyes and take a deep breath
2) Start by forgiving all the people who hurt you
3) Think about the obstacles which are bothering you and imagine them in the form of balloons that you are holding.
4) Now gradually let go of these balloons one by one and watch them shrinking as they float away.
5) Acknowledge that you are giving these away, and now it is up to Universe to take care of them.
6) Give thanks to the Universe (or something / someone that you acknowledge to be the higher power).
7) Accept the present and let the universe take care of you.
Repeat this exercise each time you are aware of the nonacceptance which is causing you to stress.
