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Tips to help you steer clear of the empty boat

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Lots of times, we pile up lots of things, wanted or unwanted just for the sake of piling up, hoping that one day we will use them. FILE PHOTO | NMG

“Sometimes the best thing you can do is not to think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess, just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best.”

A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation. But when he opens his eyes, he sees it’s an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake.

At that moment, the monk reflects upon the situation, and it struck him that anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him. From then on, whenever he came across someone who irritated him or provoked him to anger, he reminded himself, “The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me.”

The message in this story is simple. Most often are irritated by the slightest of provocation, sometimes by someone, sometimes by no one, just by some thought. All actions result from thoughts, so it’s the thought that matters. If only you realise, how powerful your thoughts are you would never think of a negative thought.

The empty boats can take many forms and shapes. How you steer clear of the empty boat and move ahead is all upto you. Below are some tips for that:

1.Every thought we think is creating our future: What you think about all day is what you end up manifesting.

2.Start by decluttering your thoughts: Firstly, stop thinking that the world is ganging up to damage you. Just stay clear, declutter your thoughts and make way for positivity in your life. If there is one person who can most definitely cause damage to you by your very own thoughts.

3.Move on to declutter your surroundings: Lots of times, we pile up lots of things, wanted or unwanted just for the sake of piling up, hoping that one day we will use them. They say if you have not used something for over six months, it is very unlikely that you would use it, though of course antiques have their own value. So go about decluttering what you do not need.

4.Keep only the essentials: This includes your friends, work, thoughts and actions. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. Restrict your thoughts to only positive ones. A positive mind looks for ways it can be done, a negative mind looks for ways it can’t be done.

5.Enjoy simple things: Once you learn to enjoy the simple things in life, surprisingly you will find yourself happier than before.