HOW BIG IS YOUR CUP OF SORROW OR HAPPINESS?

As big or small as you choose…. Yes, you decide on what will be the choice of the cup. Like we do when ordering coffee….small, medium or large.

Depending on the size of the cup, we will spend proportionate amount of time floundering in our joys or sorrows. The larger the cup of sorrow, we can keep on adding actual or perceived or anticipated unhappiness. As we keep churning our thoughts in this cup, we are drained of our energy and lose all motivation to move forward. Had the cup been smaller, we would have got over it quickly and taken baby steps to move on.

If your cup is medium or large, you can make it small by focusing on the following. First is to accept what has happened. Second is to take stock of the fact that your sorrow is relatively less than the sorrows of people around you. Believe me, there are people who have more unhappiness than what you are experiencing. Third is to ask yourself “What next? How do I move forward?”. We do not want to be stuck at one point in our life forever. Neither is it desirable that we continue to hurt or emotionally blackmail our close circle  by not letting go of our unhappiness. The whirlpool of self pity will suck us and we will become devoid of positive energy and vibes.

Moving forward from a state of unhappiness is not easy. The first step is to go for a change in our thoughts. The moment you acknowledge that your sorrow is relatively less than someone else’s,  you find a positive foothold. Change in thoughts lead to change in feelings. Now your feelings will be less unhappy. Change in feelings lead to a change in behaviour. With mild or strong positive feelings, you begin to take action that will facilitate you to move forward. Lo behold you have managed to reduce the size of the cup of sorrow.

At this point you will be able to create the cup of joy. Cup of joy is created through acknowledging all the good things that we have in our life. It calls for thanking God for everything, both joy and sorrow. Practicing gratitude will enlarge our cup of joy. It will give us good memories to carry with us.

Bottom line is that it is our choice how we perceive what is happening in our lives. God has some plans, which are beyond our comprehension. Things that are not in our control are to be accepted, while things that are in our control can be changed for the better. May your cup of joy keep growing.