When you are in a period of happiness, do you find yourself nervously anticipating it ending? Do you cling on to that happiness like a life raft, fearing its loss?
What happens when you feel sad? Do you tend to think back to better times, or look ahead to future plans in an attempt to shift your mood back to happiness again?
As quickly as happiness comes, so too can sadness. If you cling to a happy situation, you will be unhappy by comparison when it passes, and it inevitably will pass.
When we cling to happiness, we become attached to it and that can be just as damaging as becoming attached to ideas or objects. When we are attached to happiness, a lack of happiness automatically engenders sadness. Worse even in the presence of happiness, we can be hampered by fear of losing the happiness because we are attached to it.
When you become attached to an emotional state you are allowing your ego to dominate. You are letting your ego translate what is happening at any given time and, using your past experiences and conditioning, decide whether you feel ‘happy’ or ‘sad’. You are letting your ego take you away from the present moment and back to the past or fast forward into an imagined future.
So how do I remain in the present moment even in the face of sadness?
Part of accepting the present moment and mastering yourself calls for you to embrace both happiness and sadness and recognise that they are transient. You cannot change your present moment but you can change how you interact with it. Consciously choosing to accept your current situation brings an inner peace and a disconnection from the ego-driven emotions that come from trying to fight it or maintain it, such as fear, anger, frustration and sadness.
Accepting and embracing the present moment should be your primary objective, always. So if you’re having a great day, you’re happy, accept it and enjoy it! Be present and don’t allow your ego to bring you back to negative thoughts of it ending.
If you’re going through a difficult and challenging time, you must also accept it. Observe your behaviour when you are faced with a challenge. Do you instantly react, complain, pass judgement, worry or overthink things? Detach from these behaviours and bring yourself back to the present moment.
When you bring acceptance into the now you reclaim your power as you accept the moment as it is. You don’t reject the sadness or become addicted to the happiness. You simply accept that this moment IS WHAT IT IS and this creates peace and power and generates high vibrational energy.
Escape the trap of happiness and sadness. Both come in and out of our present moment. Our present moment is therefore always in a state of flux. It is something we must accept and adapt to. Allow change to happen, become comfortable with it. This itself will help drive happiness and a sense of calm.
When you start to live by the principles of Stone Heart Light Heart, accepting the present moment, you create a rewarding positive feedback loop. With acceptance comes inner peace, and with inner peace comes personal power an even greater connection with the present moment as you disconnect further from your ego.
Use this affirmation to bring you back to the present when you feel yourself slipping back into habits of wishing a state of happiness could last or that a state of sadness will end.
“I accept that this is my moment. The only moment I have in my life.”
