Sat Nam. I hope your holiday season has been plentiful thus far. And speaking of plentitude, I could’ve go another day without recounting everything that has been keeping me going. This attitude came earlier today after listening to a heart wrenching podcast from NPR’s “Fresh Air”.

The man featured on the show lost both legs and an arm to a severe electrical accident while he was in college. The following period of his life was severely affected by suffering and chronic pain. He eventually became a professional in the field of healing, dedicating his efforts to helping others with their suffering.

Now here’s a bit of context as to why this is important. I just moved to a new place where I’m still trying to fit in at a new job and with my new circle of acquaintances. It’s only been a dew days and to be truthful, my energy has been a bit low. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, there is a method called “Opposite Action”. In short, the method calls for us to combat negative emotions with positive ones. So we can pick actions that result in opposite emotion of our current one.

I was looking for a podcast to listen to at the gym today, and after hearing the story of this man in the accident, my emotion quickly changed from unconfortable to joyful and grateful. That is how this works folks. You can do many things like this. When you are feeling something that drains your emotion rather than giving, find something that tugs on the strings of your heart. Count your blessings. It could be worse.

This time of year, there are a lot of people sleeping in the cold and being miserable every night. Have you been camping in the cold and just waiting for the sun to come out? It is miserable. Meanwhile, you are sleeping comfortably. There are those who have disability and require assistance to get by. You are most likely relatively healthy and with the use of all four limbs. Be grateful for that. Are you driving a car? Be grateful for that. Do you have employment? Others may not.

You can remain joyful this way. And if more people lived joyfully, how many of our worlds problems would melt away on their own? I think a lot. Be joyful yourself. If you carry this with you, your life will become unlimited and abundance will fall right into your lap. If you become joyful, you will feel the life throbbing in your chest, and with this energy, you can do so much. I know this by experience. Let yourself be a vessel to life. Life made you. You are it’s child. Every atom and cell in your body was lent to you for a short period by the mysterious creation. What will you do with it? Will you create, or will you disturb?

Much thanks to my friend Bianca L. who contributed to NirvanaBlogs with the photography for the blog.

Sat Nam

Erik H.