Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Putting a ‘full stop’ to certain life events is sometimes not so easy and we often find ourselves inserting commas and exclamation marks instead. Why is it so difficult to apply this tiny point at times and to move on?
In English grammar the full stop normally comes at the end of a sentence to denote the end of a statement, and before we start the next one: a place where one feels it’s time to duly stop. In the drama of our life too, if we have not arrived at this ‘end’ state in our mind, then we will forever elongate our ‘life sentence’ with extra commas. And in fact, when a sentence goes on for too long, it can become cumbersome and quite impossible to grasp. So too, when something drags on for too long in one’s life, it can become not only annoying and frustrating, but one can get stuck in the old energy of one’s negativity.
The best way to enjoy a story or a good read is to have frequent stops; and regular intervals. This allows us a moment to digest what has gone before and to prepare for what is to come. Understand a full stop as a start of a new thought, not merely the end of an old one. It is an opportunity to begin something anew. Look forward and not behind. Learn from the past and then let go. The only way to change the past is to create a better future.
Also, instead of commas we sometimes accentuate our life with exclamation marks: those high tones of expressions of wonderment, amazement and disbelief. However, we then get surprised and feel let down when we come across the imperfections because we had created an illusion of a perfect person or situation. Knowing that we don’t live in a perfect world and we can all be fallible, allows us to not have unreasonable expectations and stay stable in our feelings and responses.
Knowing that this whole play of life is just about a bunch of actors playing their parts together on one stage reduces the blows and shocks, and waste thoughts. Today they may be ‘Superman’ and tomorrow not so super, however, they are just playing their part. Condemn the act not the actor. Do not confuse the role and costume with the soul. Raja Yoga meditation teaches us that every soul in their original nature is pure and divine. Look at that originality, the soul, not the one in process on stage right now.
If putting a full stop means to apply the brakes, then faulty brakes means we are unable to stop at the right time and place. Hence it raises the question whether we ever maintained our brakes in the first place, or just went about our life expecting never to crash! Maintaining our mind every day with pure, positive and powerful thoughts, will ensure that we don’t collide and stay focused on our journey.
The final full stop is indicative of ‘The End’. Where, after all the action, thoughts move into a silent, contemplative stage. The story is over and nothing more can be added. How often throughout the day are we able to apply this full stop – not half a stop – to the various stories running in our mind, in order that we can experience peace and tranquility.
It is easier, and can take only a second, to apply a full stop in a state of complete soul consciousness. In the eternity of things, nothing material really matters. In the awareness of being a body we struggle to preserve our image by writing volumes. With the pen of our actions, we justify and embellish our ego, we seek confirmation and approval, we argue and quarrel – and the story never ends.
Full stop is about closure, not so much with the other party, as much as it is about respect for the self. If you are unable to put a full stop, then how will you begin a new chapter? Honour yourself, by putting a stop to waste thoughts and a need for further drama in your life. If you still wish to ride the roller coaster of emotions, then it will be hard for you to experience a constant high.
It’s time… to put a complete full stop. Learn from the past and then let go. Take the pen of action into your own hand and begin a new chapter in your life. As new stories arise in your mind, keep them short and keep applying the brake. And when you put the final stop in your life at ‘The End’, your novel should be worth reading over and over again.
Share these thoughts!
