Within You is The Light of a Thousand Suns
The world needs your light
Sometimes it takes an overwhelming collapse to get redirected towards something incredible. That’s nature’s way of balancing, some kind of detox before you could open to the greater goodness of life.
It reminds me of a metaphor related to Heliotropism, wonderfully explained by Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson (Dept. of Positive Psychology, University of North Carolina), that plants turn towards sunlight, stretch themselves to open up and soak in as much sunlight as possible in order to bloom. Similarly, at times we need to let life stretch before ourselves and embrace it instead of clinging on to what’s familiar.
This thought especially echoes the turmoil that we all are going through in one way or the other due to the global pandemic. Loss of jobs, dwindling businesses, friends and family in hospitals while perhaps you aren’t even in the same country (for me it’s the third one). We are grappling with worries, uncertainties and questions that no one has answers to. Amidst all of this…how could one possibly stretch out for light, hope, prayers and gratitude?
It’s true that we don’t have the answers, however, I have a hunch that instead of wallowing in sadness life could be a shade better if we follow these simple ways to build better coping capabilities.
Power of Pivoting
Every-time you get dragged into the quicksand of negativity, ask yourself- ‘What is it that I really want?’, the answer could be health, happiness, love, stability, money, safety could be anything but always inherently positive. Sit down with this answer and next ask yourself ‘What could I do reach my wanting?’. Note everything possible or every step that you could take to do something about it. Set yourself timelines and start the process. This simple Law of Attraction technique is immensely powerful to redirect your negative thoughts into something completely positive, constructive and works to undo the effects of negative thoughts. In my case, through the process of pivoting I learnt that all I want is my loved ones to be healthy and safe, I want them to know that I genuinely care. You’ll have to sense the energy that pivoting attracts to see the effects for yourself.
Power of Manifestations
Visualizations are extremely powerful and go a long way. For people who find it goofy, have a simple question for them- if catastrophizing events or imagining the worst could bring in bad luck, then why can’t we invest the same amount of energy into something more hopeful and bring in luck. None of us are globe readers capable of knowing the future, hence there isn’t any harm in showing ourselves a better and hopeful portrayal. Spend time in visualizing the future just the way you want it to be. It’s your reality that you’re creating so put colors, happiness, joy, peace whatever it is that you need for yourself and your family in the future. Positive psychology says, that if you can hold a positive thought in your mind for as short a duration as 10seconds then that thought could trigger positive emotions and vibrations within you. Trust me we need more of such emotions to consciously fill ourselves with positivity.
Power of Telling a New Story
Tell yourself a story that you want to hear, would love to live and experience in the future. How beautiful or encouraging would you want things to be in the imminent. The old negative script needs to be replaced with a fresh one. Even if things aren’t the way you want it to be at the present, this new story isn’t a lie at all. It is about holding the future life in your mind and if you can hold something in your mind you could also have it in your hands. I would like to leave you with that thought…and before I sign off for the day, remember that ‘Tough times don’t last forever. Tough people do.’
Originally published at https://dazzleinside.com on December 7, 2020.
