by Sister Jacqueline Russell from Brahma Kumaris Centre for Spiritual Learning
The greatest wealth is to learn to think in terms of what we have and what we are.
We have enormous internal resources of resilience and what we are is spiritual beings with qualities of goodness.
Such thinking is a source of hope for the self.
However, this way of thinking takes a shift in awareness as there is a tendency to emphasise our worries.
First ask yourself: “Will taking time out from my worries make me lose time that should be used in solving them?”
Probably not.
Taking time out does not mean creating a distraction so I suppress the worries, but to change my attitude and way of thinking about them.
In this way it can allow space for a natural clarity of thought to emerge.
We need to experiment with these thoughts to understand that the attitude of hope, of peace, of goodness, is very much a part of our being human.
Try it and see that when we hold on to the attitude of hope, immediately there is a lightness.
Such an attitude clears away the heaviness of worry.
Of course, we need to seek a solution to a situation, and we may need to take some action.
But starting with a feeling of hope that there is a solution enables a feeling of confidence in one’s resources.
When we hold on to an attitude of hope, it actually clears away blockages in our being able to deal with things.
To maintain a stable clarity in our thinking, one helpful practice is to be careful of what we put into our mind.
This means not to over-crowd our mind with stories and visuals of sadness and sorrow.
Certainly, we need to be aware of what is happening around us, but can we avoid immersing ourselves in the situation and personalizing it?
Perhaps we think that we need to be aware and to care but consider, does it help to become overwhelmed.
When we look at the world with a perspective of hope and open our eyes to the beauty that is in the world around us, our attitude towards life can change.
Walk in nature, and really see it, feel the peace that emerges in ourselves, really see the sky, and feel that we are part of nature, of creation, that there is a oneness of everything.
Finally, reconsider that the greatest wealth is to appreciate what we have, to hold on to a feeling of hope and be who we are – spiritual beings with qualities of goodness.
