When work doesn’t work, detachment works
Sometimes, we work at something, yet nothing seems to work. We struggle to improve a relationship, but things keep going south. What can we do [...]
The night after a quake, the stars still shine in the sky – don’t let the misery of your life blind you to the beauty of life
Suppose a deadly quake has hit a place, leaving it in ruins. If we gaze at all the debris, the sight can be depressing, even [...]
Problems are like burdens whose weight increases with the attention we give them
Suppose we have to carry a huge bag. We may struggle to carry it, but if that bag became bigger and bigger, the struggle would [...]
Resenting reversals locks us in ignorance, accepting reversals opens the door to transcendence
When things start going wrong, we often feel resentful: ‘Why is this happening to me? Why do things always go wrong with me? Why is [...]
Stronger than what faces us is what graces us
Life sometimes hurls at us overwhelming obstacles that we feel utterly unequipped to deal with. If we have a materialistic vision of life, we feel [...]
There is more to us than what faces us
Suppose an unarmed civilian is facing an armed aggressor. The odds may seem hopeless. But if they discover that they have a weapon more powerful [...]
Even if we have a million reasons to be resentful, still resentment remains utterly unhelpful and can be horribly harmful
Life is tough. People let us down. Things go downhill for no apparent reason. We ourselves make a mess of things, often against our better [...]
Pleasure and pain are both life’s ringtones – don’t keep hearing the tone, start picking up the phone
Suppose our phone rings. Some ringtones are soothing; some, jarring. However, how the ringtone sounds is not as important as what it indicates: that someone [...]
Life may be full of problems, but we don’t have to be one of them
Life is tough. We all face problems. When multiple problems attack us, we may feel overwhelmed, resentful, hopeless. These feelings can induce knee-jerk reactions that [...]
We can’t eliminate suffering, but we can cultivate a purpose that makes suffering bearable and meaningful
Consider soldiers fighting to free their country from tyrannical invaders. They are ready to face pain, even death, because the war is deeply meaningful for [...]
Amidst unmanageably distressing times, reduce your working frame to manageable units of time
Sometimes, we face such huge distress that everything seems dark. How can we deal with such times? By reducing our working frame. If we start [...]
Life is a school in which everyone thinks their exam is the toughest
Suppose a school has an examination system in which each student gets a different question paper. The system might seem unfair, but actually, it is [...]
When time becomes unfavorable, don’t become unfavorable to the Lord beyond time
We all go through phases in our life when many things go wrong. While going through such bad times, if we let our attitude go [...]
Even if we can’t see adversity as opportunity, we can still see opportunity in adversity
Some people say, “See every adversity as an opportunity.” While such an exhortation to think positive sounds good and can be helpful, it can be [...]
Even if we can’t understand Krishna, we can still stand under Krishna
Life sometimes assaults us with devastating adversities that cripple us materially and spiritually. Unable to understand why God is letting such things happen to us, [...]
Problems may get stuck inside us, but we don’t have to get stuck inside them
Suppose someone writes abusive graffiti on our house wall. We will be annoyed. If the graffiti is written with indelible ink, we will be more [...]
No matter how bad things are, we can always make them worse – we are never powerless
Sometimes, life puts us in so many difficulties that we feel utterly powerless. That feeling can drown us in despair, self-pity, resentment and even suicidal [...]
To keep fighting battles that are already lost is to be lost
Suppose in a cricket match a batsman had a great opportunity to score on a loose delivery, but somehow they missed that opportunity. They would [...]
To put something behind us, we need to put something ahead of us
When some misfortune befalls us, our mind tends to keep replaying that misfortune, making us feel fearful, morose, helpless. Such negativity characterizes the mode of [...]
Even when our eyes are full of tears, we can still choose to be all ears
Sometimes, life afflicts us so grievously that we feel broken, tearful and blinded by confusion and dejection. How can we move ahead when our vision [...]
Chemical highs can’t cure life’s lows, we need to go spiritually high
When life’s adversities push people down, they often feel so dejected that they desperately seek something to lift themselves. And often they turn to chemicals [...]