The Art of Being {Philosophy Break}

When I started writing the title for this post I intended it to be about the art of being happy despite others attempts at foiling your happiness and ruining your day. I had just completed a post about Perspective & Understanding but felt I had more to say on a related subject and that was; the presence of being, contentment, authentic self & personal integrity. I quickly chopped out all the B.S and went with the current title; The Art of Being.
I went with this title because the others were far too limiting. I didn't want to talk about happiness in and of itself or personal integrity solely either. I wanted to talk about BEING-ness and the Art of existing in that state of being despite the obstacles. I won't pretend to be a zen master to any extent, but my goal is to be in a content state of mind that ensures I am doing my best to understand my situations and to make the best of them as they unfold before me. If I fail at understanding something or give in to emotional impurities then I try and rectify the situation by grabbing hold of the steering wheel and driving myself out of the muck and into a positive field of opportunity.
Opportunity is a good word. It comes with all these mysterious implications and that's the point isn't it? When we find ourselves down a road where the opportunities for a peaceful state of mind are limited its up to us to provide a more positive environment for our mind. You don't have to hate yourself for failing to regulate your emotions or getting yourself in a sticky situation if you acknowledge that you played a part in getting yourself there and commit yourself to getting out of it in a timely manner. The Art of Being isn't about BEING great, or BEING perfect, it's about being present and being willing to accept the path put before us, then making the adjustments necessary to get yourself on the track towards a peaceful state of mind.
A peaceful state of mind doesn't wallow, regret or react- It responds and in order for your responses to be in line with the peace you desire they have to be in line with peace in general, which means you've got alot of work to do (lol), because if your like me...everyday is a struggle to not shout out your frustrations and hope the world rushes to change for you. The fact is that rarely happens, but the trick is that every time you take a moment to be in the moment and align your actions with your goal towards peace, you find yourself there a little bit longer every time.

*closeup from my painting "TRUTH"

Fathom