Mature Living:
1. Act, Do Not React:
Action is the very sign of life. Act we must, till our last breath. Reaction, on the other hand, is with the foul smell of a hurt ego. Right action betters situations. An egoistic reaction worsens problems. As we look at problems objectively, with a silent, alert mind, we come upon the right action. If our assessment is clouded with personal likes and dislikes, our words and actions lead us to more entanglements and complications. Let us find out the frame of mind, free from pride and prejudice, where alone there is the fragrance of right action.
2. Moderation, the Best Policy:
Life is a great privilege, and an immense responsibility too. To know the right measure in food, speech, sleep, and all activities is the key to living a balanced life. Then alone we rise to greater heights of service and fulfillment. Through understanding and gentle self-persuasion, we can bring true order into our living. We need to steer clear of all misunderstandings about self-control and discipline. Neither condemning nor pampering, we ought to educate our senses and train them to serve higher values of life.
3. The Meditative Mind:
Higher understanding is the essence of meditation. No mechanical procedure, no fanciful mental trip constitutes it. An open mind that is ready to learn from anybody and anywhere is in a state of meditation. When we become aware of the trap of personal ambition, the snare of becoming somebody, and the pleasure of arrogance, there is a deep transformation in us. Seeing how foolish it is to pursue pleasure and how silly it is to believe that we can teach somebody a lesson, there comes about mellowness in our minds. Peace, light, and suppleness characterize the saintly mind.
4. Living with No Regrets:
The O.P.E.N. formula asks us to observe (O) our thoughts, bring in positive (P) thoughts, do energy (E) management, and say no Memories are often a great trap. We believe that we learn from the past and build the future with care. But alas, the past overpowers us and makes us sink in sorrow or burn in revengefulness. Violence serves no end. Self-hurting does not help either. Memories, in the first place, are of questionable value as they are limited, outdated, and most products of certain interpretations. They do not hold the truth in them. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and TODAY is God’s present to us. In an inner awakening, regrets evaporate like mist in the morning sun.
5. Truth is God:
There is this supreme intelligence behind the universe and our life that surely outsmarts all the human intelligence put together. This Truth is the law of life and includes the laws of love, justice, health, and happiness. It operates everywhere outside and, more significantly, from the hearts of everybody. This Truth makes a child sometimes teach her father and it can transform the hardest criminal into a man of God. This Truth, interwoven in every transaction of ours, and present in every breath of ours, is God.