You are a powerful being. It’s true, you are. Even though it may seem unlikely at times, you have the ability to influence or even create a situation around yourself. Look around you, understand that many of the elements that surround you are optional. Be kind, be noble, but also be happy; it will only add to the happiness of others. Fine-tune yourself, and fine-tune the circumstances around you, no matter how long it takes.
There have been times when several people have been placing their demands on me—seeking my time, energy and resources. It was particularly stressful for me when I was going through my divorce in 2013. I was simultaneously trying to make sure my three beautiful and amazing children were unaffected by the worst of it. I wanted to move back into my townhouse and recreate their childhood home, decorating their bedrooms so they could continue their transition from children to young adults smoothly. Keeping so many balls up in the air with construction, paperwork, the Giving Back Foundation, my recent life in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Delhi and Dubai was at times too much for me. My parents were 100 per cent by my side, and so were my children, but my confusion and sadness carried on for three years.
This is when I was introduced to Sadhguru by my close friends, Shilpa and Yakub Mathews, in 2016. I started meditating twice a day and soon. I began to calm down and approach everything with the understanding that it was all a part of the universal divine consciousness. Immediately, I could sense a mental shift, and every situation around me—big and small—began to feel better and better! I would say my mother is the best example of how to create a better situation around oneself. Having come over to India from Ireland in 1959, when mixed-race marriages in Saharanpur and small Indian cities were still unheard of, my mother was not worried. She made the best of her surroundings with whatever little she had. When Dad sailed away to sea and she was with her in-laws in Saharanpur, where most people only spoke Hindi, Mom was not perplexed. She started learning Hindi and willingly went into the marketplace with any relative who asked her to go with them to do errands. Gradually, she began to wear a salwar kameez and other traditional clothes; she had them tailored so that they would fit better.
If she was homesick, she would go to the local British bakery in Saharanpur. Her father was a baker and a good pastry reminded her of Dublin, and her happy childhood and loving parents. Throughout her life, Mom has always created the best situations around herself instead of giving in to negative situations. Her positive way of dealing with everything gave her a sense of power and control over her own life, even though many could have said that being married at a very early age, and staying with her in-laws in a small town in another country, with no common language and miles and miles away from her homeland, could have been daunting. But not for Mom. She won hearts, left, right and centre. She went to church every Sunday, introduced Christmas to her Hindu relatives, and had the whole clan accompany her to the town for an ice cream on Sunday evenings—a tradition Mom started in her new home. My father was so proud of her, and here they are, happily married after sixty years!
Creating a better situation for ourselves around us is contagious. It has a long shelf life and makes everything better for all those near us!
Act consciously: Be conscious about every single action you take.
Fulfil what you say you will: When you vouch to do something, make sure you deliver on that promise.
Commandeer your situation: Remember that we have the ability to change our situation through our thoughts and emotions.
(Excerpts from 3 TIPS: The Essentials for Peace, Joy and Success by Meera Gandhi)
