Are you serious?

“Do not take life seriously. You will never get out alive.”

Elbert Hubbard.

I was a serious youngster, life sat heavily on my shoulders. I tended towards the solemn and I didn’t realise how I hurt myself in the process.

• I had little idea that seriousness meant the following:
• I worried about the smallest of things
• Couldn’t handle uncertainty
• Was overly self-conscious
• Too afraid of making a mistake
• Was constantly focused on threats rather than opportunities

 

I didn’t stop to ask myself, “Is this really so important right now?” “Is it beyond repair?” and “Will it still matter 1 year from now?”

This would have helped me find a solution rather than getting stuck ruminating on things that were out of my control. But that’s all hindsight now.

The sage Nityananda says, “Seriousness is the result of over-expectations from life.” Seriousness is paying undue importance to something at the cost of everything else. It arises from the inability to see that all of life is just a drama that unfolds every minute.

 

So, here’s the thing, we start living when we aren’t excessively worrying about every potential ‘what if’ scenario. And intellectually we all know that stress and worry are not a responsible way to deal with life’s challenges. Seriousness closes the mind to the openness and freedom of life and makes us stick to familiar patterns that kill spontaneity and creativity.

 

Even science has proven that when you perform a task in a relaxed and fun way, your decision-making capacity is automatically enhanced. When we are too concerned about the result we sabotage our ability to function optimally. On the other hand, sincerity has a whole different feel and flavour. It keeps you enthusiastic and also maintains the sensitivity towards what you’re engaged in. The motto then, be sincere not serious!

 

I see seriousness as a counterpart of worry which has become a deeply embedded pattern in us...like the mind can be seen as a piece of hardware that is programmed with software called “worry”...and worry never improves a situation. Just like anger rarely resolves friction or throwing blame on others doesn’t fix a problem, though it does show that you have no control over your own life!

 

We all want to take a more light-hearted approach to living. The best and only way to do it, is to consciously shift perspective....to accept that your perception of reality becomes your reality! That is to say that your reality is coloured by your expectations, and your expectations are a direct result of your beliefs and your beliefs sprout from the thoughts you constantly dwell upon.

 

So what do I choose? I choose to dwell upon the vastness of the universe and in relationship to that how significant we truly are....and I stop worrying about who didn’t like what I said and what tomorrow will bring. Things can seem monumental from our little plot of existence and we can drive ourselves crazy with what has to be done.

 

Sanity returns as you relax into the moment and focus on what’s at hand. The truth is that there’s nothing you can control except right now, this moment and your availability to it. Align yourself to the brighter, lighter version of yourself. Surround yourself with funny people, watch a comedy, be ok being vulnerable. No, things won’t always be easy, yet we can always laugh, be open, smile....it’s free therapy! Just live!

 

Cheers!