Meditation

On True Celebration: Keep a Smile on Your Face and An Attitude of Joy!

 

There are two types of celebration. One is as thanksgiving, an expression of gratitude to God, or the Divine. The second comes from dropping the past and moving forward, knowing that life is eternal. Any excuse to celebrate is good.

Sanctity and depth

In true celebration, you aren't just having a party. When sanctity is part of it, celebration becomes complete. The body, mind, and spirit rejoice. If celebration uplifts and unites all around you, it frees you of the traumatic past. If it brings you hope for the future, then you won't feel guilty. That type of celebration is service. It's sacred. Turn your celebration of an accomplishment or an event into a sacred offering. Leave behind the self-centered, pleasure-seeking forms.

When celebration has a tinge of sanctity and prayer, it gains depth and dignity. It isn't entertainment for the mind or excitement for the body alone, but it's nourishment for the soul. Without intoxicants, begin afresh with an act of kindness towards another person. Take this opportunity to enjoy a moment of reflection, in writing, as a memorial, or with loved ones.

An attitude of joy

Celebration is an attitude. To celebrate life and any particular holiday season, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Celebration comes from enthusiasm and joy. When you feel depressed, that’s when you need celebration the most. Reconcile with the past and move on to the future with enthusiasm. Share what you have with others.

Life will always move in the direction of the best. On the way you may find some rough roads, but they'll lead you to a better life. Difficulties give you depth, and joy gives you breadth. The wise see their past as destiny, their future as free will, and they're happy in the present. The unwise regret the past, think of the future as set in stone, and they're miserable in the present. The choice is yours.

Keep smiling. The past has taught us many lessons; what we should be doing and what we shouldn't. Every pain we went through brought us some revelation of depth. All the joys, pleasures, and laughter gave us a new vision of life and hope for the future.

A delicate balance

Welcome the new day with a genuine smile. That smile comes when you know for sure that you have love. If you don’t know that the Divine loves you, you won't be able to celebrate life. You'll live in insecurity. With insecurity comes greed. With greed comes selfishness. And selfishness breeds anger. With anger comes lust. And that brings sadness and misery. These results happen one behind the other, like in a chain reaction.

Look back and try to remember your past ways of entanglements in such a pattern. How long did those last? When you do this, don't reject anything. Let your attention be on the higher Self. This is a delicate balance. That balance is yoga. That balance is spirituality. 

Some people think being silent is spirituality. Some think only celebration is spirituality. Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration. It's also inner silence and outer celebration! Celebration that comes out of silence is real celebration.

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By Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

ART OF LIVING PART I COURSE Discover Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s ancient secret to modern well-being

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