Don’t Trade your Heart for a Handkerchief
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Whilst reflecting on my youth, it is evident that I have exchanged many valuable things for worthless things. Those ignorant decisions have surely pushed me into murky pits that have consumed many of the precious years that I could have lived in bliss. Your heart is one of the most precious parts of your body, it is formed to feel love, affection and care. However, many have pawned their hearts only to possess a handkerchief, in order to wipe away the tears that have aroused due to the foolish decisions they have made in terms of the cheap deals they have made in the journey of life.
The two hours of additional sleep whilst being a student, has cost many to become jobless, due to the lack of educational qualifications. If they had invested those two hours on studying, they could have gained the necessary qualifications to find a job. Unfortunately, some people have traded fifteen years of their lifespan just because they have disregarded thirty minutes walk a day. Some trade their desire of having a burger a day with a bypass. Another trades their craving for alcohol with cirrhosis. Another may pawn their beautiful family life for an illicit relationship. A great number of people trade their peace of mind just to feed their ego and pride. Life always offers you two options. The discounted one that is close to expiration and the expensive one that is healthy and beneficial in the long run. Unfortunately, many people opt for the discounted option that is attractive and satisfying in the short term.
The worst scenario of all is that they go through so many folds of suffering after making the cheap transaction. This is simply because the repercussion that occurred due to the consumption of the discounted product needs greater care. This is what I call ‘Manipulative Trade’. Once someone regularly trades precious things for cheaper things, their minds are accustomed to respond only to the thought patterns that are beneficial in the short term even though they are destructive in the long term.
The constant use of cheap trade makes a man opt for cheap trade as his first preference, even though he knows the repercussion of it, he cannot select the trade which is worthwhile as his mind has passed the signal to his five senses and his soul – thoughts, emotions and feelings about its necessity for quick taste. Last week I had to attend a funeral of an unfortunate death of a twenty eight year old handsome young man who suicided by hanging himself. The cause of this unfortunate incident was his incapacity to face a distressful feeling. This life pattern of escaping occurs when you have never trained yourself to be prepared to go through the longer route in life which consists of challenges, turbulence and storms. As this young man had not trained himself to go through that path, he had to choose the route with the quick fixes that his mind was accustomed to.
Yesterday, my wife was preparing a delicious healthy meal of white rice, sprats, beetroot and bitter gourd. The meal was to be ready in no time, it would have been ready in ten minutes at maximum. Then, there were two Chinese rolls on the dining table that grabbed my attention. The moment my eyes saw those two rolls my mind started bombarding with a series of thoughts persuading me to go ahead with a cheap trade to eat the two Chinese rolls before the main meal. Rather than initiating powerful positive thoughts to fight against those persuasive negative thoughts, I actually welcomed the persuasive thoughts until I was strongly compelled to take the decision to eat the two rolls. Just as I ate it, I lost my appetite towards the main meal. Therefore, I forfeited the wonderful opportunity of enjoying a healthy meal that was prepared by my wife. Even though this is a minor matter, in my eyes it reminded me of the many instances that I have traded something really valuable for something which is not worth at all just to attain the pleasure of fifteen minutes.
The foundation of human thoughts is always based on greed. Even a most spiritual person strives to have more believers in his place of worship than another spiritual person’s place of worship even though they both may belong to the same religion. Our minds constantly crave for what we do not have, up and above what we attain. Although what you obtain is the most precious thing you could ever have, by default your five senses seek to attain what you do not possess. That is the reason we sometimes come across people who visit to prostitutes when they have a beautiful and precious wife at home.
This is why it is very important to ceaselessly tame our thoughts, emotions and feelings and lead them towards a new governance of leadership. This fresh governance should have a brand new approach that has been attained through a continuous walk with the truth. It does not assure that you will not fall, but you must make sure that you walk in the same path of truth however much you may fall during the journey. At the age of three none of us could wash properly after we poop, we get poop everywhere. Yet, as adults we do not get poop everywhere whenever we wash ourselves after using the toilet. Is it because we did a “Masters in Washing our Back?” No, it is merely a result of the continuous practice led by our desire to be clean.
This is why I always say that training your mind is of utmost importance because that is where the battlefield is. Unfortunately, many do not focus on training their mind thus they become vulnerable before the attacks of thoughts deployed by their enemy. Your real enemy is not anyone else but you. There are two personalities within you. One is the elder brother who is powerful in thoughts, he constantly rules the younger brother who is weaker in thoughts. The elder brother or the governing body of your mind is inherited from your ancestral DNA. If you intend to change it you must not give up fighting until the destructive thoughts are captivated and civilized. I was always hot tempered since childhood, I believe I inherited it from my mother. I used to break glasses or hurt my body every time I faced a challenge. My mind did not know how to control my bad temper by taking that negative thought through the proper route of handling it. Instead, I choose the shortcut to overcome it temporarily. Momentary trades are like remaining in front of a heater on a snowy day. You cannot stand in front of the heater the whole winter because you have to go to work for a living. One fine day I made a strong decision that I needed serious help regarding the weaknesses I possessed. I sought assistance from the source that I naturally run towards when I need help.
Nevertheless, if you do not identify that you are in need of help, your inner weaknesses will grow from one level to another until they destroy your peace of mind just as your physical illnesses would grow and deteriorate your health. I have fought with the cops, but no longer do I do it. I have understood the repercussions of cheap trade. I am no longer willing to sell my heart for a handkerchief. I have understood the importance of life. It is absolutely beautiful the moment you define your transactions with regard to your thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Therefore, discipline your mind and keep it under control with appropriate governance. Do not let your feelings, thoughts and emotions take control over you, rather train your mind to take control. If not, you will become a slave of yourself. I was a slave to cheap trades for years and years, the day I was saved from them was the day I realised how beautiful life can be. Are you the type of person who would trade your boots for a hat when you have to take a long walk in a thorny path in a cool day?
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