Our soul is not just a thing. It is more than a qualitative aspect of our being — the insignia for understanding our mind. It celebrates life from deep within and connects us to the external dimension of our being. The soul mirrors our values and beliefs, or the core of our existence. It expresses our ideals; it perceives and connects us to the cosmos. It is only when you ‘seamlessly’ integrate yourself with your soul can you think about your good and others’ good. What you are is what you are with your soul. Life attains its acme when you are familiar with its expanse and experience your complete being, or rapport with it.
You will enrich yourself with the true dimension of being when you analyse the ways and means in which your soul manifests itself — not by means of a hefty bank balance, but by being able to look at achievement as fulfilment. We all heed to the inner wisdom of our soul, not so much in good times, but during troubled times. This is not right. We should listen to the call of our soul in good and not-so-good times. This will enable us to savour each moment of our life — not merely situations. In the process, we evolve and become aware of ourselves and the universe — or, the spirit of our being. We also reach a state of constancy, or balance, from where we are able to form natural solutions to normal and abnormal problems. This becomes a habit. It motivates us to cultivate, enrich our resident soul to face life and its ‘ups and downs’ with equanimity. The more open and receptive you are to your soul, the more open-minded you will be — so much so, the mundane, or insignificant, patterns of your life will not disturb the inner, or outer, core of your being.
Are we not witness to trivial conflicts too there are no actual conflicts in everyday life? A relative, or friend, you have invited does not turn up for dinner. You may think there’s a reason — may be, the person had some ‘impromptu’ crisis to attend to, so could not inform. On the other hand, if you think that this was an affront, you get into the rut. You pump yourself with negative energy. You will not only hurt yourself; you will also hurt the individual in question and others who were not part of the whole drama — this isn’t dramatics in the first place. Once you lose your logical grip, it becomes difficult to handle, or control, your thoughts. You make a mess of things. You reflect your own skewed image — a representation of someone who has forgotten to be a thoughtful adult. This is precisely the reason why some people never seem to grow up in life.
Most conflicts, as we all know, are part and parcel of life and career. They may sometimes be resolved by a long shot. Sometimes not. Difficult, or fluid, conflicts often lead to contentious situations. Knowing the basics of effective conflict management is one good way of dealing with conflicts that cannot be resolved quickly, or easily. This bids fair to a well-defined, also adjustable, conflict prevention and management plan to be put in place before conflicts hit the roof. This will help us to preserve our work, also professional, and personal relationships. Conflicts that are resolved amicably have a positive effect on our work, family, health and well-being. Interpersonal conflicts, for instance, when not managed appropriately, or assertively, can lead to a splurge in eating, abuse of alcohol and/or smoking. It has also been found that such unresolved conflicts can lead to the return of a latent original problem.
Our mind is like a monkey. The moment you let loose the monkey in you, it runs amuck. It also goes bonkers. The outcome is nothing short of bedlam, bewilderment and fixated distress. Look at the other side of the picture. When you are in control of the monkey in you, or ‘coach’ it to sit calmly, you bring in serenity, or a sense of tranquillity. In mindful terms, this is tantamount to increasing your capacity from a marginal degree of control to an expanded degree of restraint ‘uplifted’ to improve the quality and purpose of your daily living habits and life. This takes time; this takes a great deal of preparation too. Yet, when you endeavour consciously, you will be able to transform the adage — practice makes perfect and practice makes wisdom.
— First published in India First
