Loss is inevitably followed by fear. A great anxiety about the future fills you. How will I live without an income? How will I live without my beloved? How will I live with this ailment? No matter how proud you are, loss will inevitably strike and with it a sense of anxiety over the future? This anxiety envelops the mind in a great darkness? These questions cannot be answered at the moment of loss. This needs to be seen first. At this moment in time when you are looking directly at your great fear, you must realize that it is futile to seek answers now. Just look at the fear. Let us see what we find...
Say, you have lost your source of income...now you fear for your future survival and comfort...you fear that something horrible will happen to you in the future because of this loss...ok, now what is the worst that can happen...Death...i think you will agree with me on this....the worst thing that could happen to you is that you will die...if not death then maybe you will have to endure humiliation...or you might have to endure physical pain and hunger...you are afraid of startving to death...you are also afraid of the pain that will precede death...you are also afraid of being seen as a loser by others...but anyway, the worst that could happen to you is that you will die a painful death...let us make a list of the bad things that could happen in the future following loss of income:
1. Die a painful death from starvation
2. Suffer humiliation from society
3. Forced to be dependent on other people's charity
4. Lose your home and become homeless
5. Complete loss of pride
Ok, so these are the fears of loss of income. Basically, your survival is questioned and your pride is lost. Note that these are the worst things...
The first great truth of life is that all things that are born will die. Death is inevitable for all born things. You are going to die, irrespective of whether you lose your source of income or not. The only thing is that you might die sooner than others due to your income loss. And endure humiliation on the way to your early death. As regards humiliation, life brings everyone to their knees. All beings are humiliated by life.
This brings us to the second great truth which is that you are not who you think you are.You might consider yourself to be a brilliant and gifted person incapable of failure. But you are not who you think you are. In order to win the approval of other people, you delude yourself into believing some strange things about yourself. These beliefs which you have about yourself are all false and nothing but mere self delusion. Give them up. So, life will humiliate you if you believe in your own greatness. This too is inevitable. Your sense of self importance will be shattered and this is the experience of humiliation. So, if you do not have false beliefs about yourself, you cannot experience humiliation. So far, loss of income has forced you to see two truths about life and yourself. This belief in our own importance is a hard one to give up. And especially hard to endure when shattered. Infact, it can be said that this belief is responsible for most of the misery and fear in life. So give up your pride and make yourself immune to humiliation. This is actually the toughest nut to crack. Because our sense of self importance is in our own perception. To endure humiliation is the hardest thing in the world.
Now the next is the fear of physical pain. This fear is universal and is not dependent on one's position or status in life. Physical pain is also a truth of life. As long as the body or vessel exists, pain is unavoidable. Physical pain is nature communicating with you.
Let us also deal with another emotion that accompanies loss along with fear. And that is envy. When you lose something, you will envy others who have that which you have lost. This is a deep emotion. The origin of envy is comparision. You refuse to be at the bottom of the scale when compared to others whom you perceive to be above you. Infact you hate the ones on top. It is envy that drives you to seek the top. And when you fall, the sense of envy can become intense. The only cure for envy is to realize that comparision is futile and to humbly accept your position in life wherever it might be. Realize that we are all part of one whole and each being has their own issues in life. If you are able to truly and humbly accept your position in life, you will find great peace. If not, then envy will drive you to strive. Again, it is your belief in your own sense of importance that makes you envy. Give up your pride and envy will leave you. Because envy follows pride. Humility is truly your greatest treasure. Acceptance follows humility. Give up all ideas of your own greatness and worthiness. Dont worry if you can't because life will keep reminding you ;-).
Say, you have lost your source of income...now you fear for your future survival and comfort...you fear that something horrible will happen to you in the future because of this loss...ok, now what is the worst that can happen...Death...i think you will agree with me on this....the worst thing that could happen to you is that you will die...if not death then maybe you will have to endure humiliation...or you might have to endure physical pain and hunger...you are afraid of startving to death...you are also afraid of the pain that will precede death...you are also afraid of being seen as a loser by others...but anyway, the worst that could happen to you is that you will die a painful death...let us make a list of the bad things that could happen in the future following loss of income:
1. Die a painful death from starvation
2. Suffer humiliation from society
3. Forced to be dependent on other people's charity
4. Lose your home and become homeless
5. Complete loss of pride
Ok, so these are the fears of loss of income. Basically, your survival is questioned and your pride is lost. Note that these are the worst things...
The first great truth of life is that all things that are born will die. Death is inevitable for all born things. You are going to die, irrespective of whether you lose your source of income or not. The only thing is that you might die sooner than others due to your income loss. And endure humiliation on the way to your early death. As regards humiliation, life brings everyone to their knees. All beings are humiliated by life.
This brings us to the second great truth which is that you are not who you think you are.You might consider yourself to be a brilliant and gifted person incapable of failure. But you are not who you think you are. In order to win the approval of other people, you delude yourself into believing some strange things about yourself. These beliefs which you have about yourself are all false and nothing but mere self delusion. Give them up. So, life will humiliate you if you believe in your own greatness. This too is inevitable. Your sense of self importance will be shattered and this is the experience of humiliation. So, if you do not have false beliefs about yourself, you cannot experience humiliation. So far, loss of income has forced you to see two truths about life and yourself. This belief in our own importance is a hard one to give up. And especially hard to endure when shattered. Infact, it can be said that this belief is responsible for most of the misery and fear in life. So give up your pride and make yourself immune to humiliation. This is actually the toughest nut to crack. Because our sense of self importance is in our own perception. To endure humiliation is the hardest thing in the world.
Now the next is the fear of physical pain. This fear is universal and is not dependent on one's position or status in life. Physical pain is also a truth of life. As long as the body or vessel exists, pain is unavoidable. Physical pain is nature communicating with you.
Let us also deal with another emotion that accompanies loss along with fear. And that is envy. When you lose something, you will envy others who have that which you have lost. This is a deep emotion. The origin of envy is comparision. You refuse to be at the bottom of the scale when compared to others whom you perceive to be above you. Infact you hate the ones on top. It is envy that drives you to seek the top. And when you fall, the sense of envy can become intense. The only cure for envy is to realize that comparision is futile and to humbly accept your position in life wherever it might be. Realize that we are all part of one whole and each being has their own issues in life. If you are able to truly and humbly accept your position in life, you will find great peace. If not, then envy will drive you to strive. Again, it is your belief in your own sense of importance that makes you envy. Give up your pride and envy will leave you. Because envy follows pride. Humility is truly your greatest treasure. Acceptance follows humility. Give up all ideas of your own greatness and worthiness. Dont worry if you can't because life will keep reminding you ;-).
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