John Milton once rightfully stated, “The mind is its own place and in itself,
can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” It is important to make
regular visits to the mansion of one’s mind, where reside the
myriad-coloured dreams and thoughts that shape a personality, and with
the guidance of which one weaves a fulfilling life.
Treat your mind like you would your beloved home, with rooms that have
huge glass windows that the gold-dripping sun knocks on each morning,
and darkness slowly retreats – till every corner of your house happily
gleams with excitement – and ultimately dissolves into nothingness.
On your walk towards the window, let yourself absorb every ray of sunshine
that rests on your skin, and open the windows to let fresh air in. Do not
forget to air out the home of your mind and breathe in the energy of a new
day, and watch the curtains dance to the rhythm of the silken morning wind,
announcing the arrival of another twenty four hours of endless
opportunities.
Remember, you choose the music that you want to dance to,
so replace any grating, raucous notes of self-doubt with the heartening
symphony of countless birds that announce the break of dawn.
The residence of your thoughts and emotions needs a thorough cleansing
every day. Dust off the sheets of inhibitions that you take to bed each night,
wash the feet that tread long paths of negative thinking and run continuous
marathons against such lines of thinking. Sweep the floors of your mind to
get rid of any accumulated words of despair against oneself or others, that
breed into mould in the dingy corners of the house before you know it.
The nature of the walls of one’s house is their concreteness; they are the
skeleton of the house, just as gratitude is a disposition of the mind, and not
a situational condition. A mind that is supported by walls and pillars of
grateful thoughts is always aware of the worth of human life, and the
unmatched blessing of existence. Every breath that your lungs are graced
with is alive, and hence aware of how you breathe it; the mind treats you
just as you treat it. An infant is moulded and brought up in the image of its
parents – the projection of their core characteristics results in the inevitable
inheritance of them by the child. Similarly, the mind becomes what you
consciously or subconsciously tell it, and so one should be careful of what
one teaches the mind to believe.
One’s surroundings are the ingredients that sit stacked up on rows of
shelves in the kitchen of the mind’s house. These surroundings, whether it
be a workplace or a friend circle, are what one consumes and absorbs, and
its byproduct stays inside the mind, becoming a part of it. One must
remember to avoid blind consumption of harmful ingredients that give birth
to toxic thoughts, for one is fully capable of establishing control over
influences that might prove to be unhealthy for the mind. Surround yourself
with people who radiate with an aura of optimism, and push you towards a
desire of improving yourself every chance you get.
Every man is the embodiment of the nature of his thoughts that live like a
family inside the house of one’s mind. Just as members of a family and
their distinct personalities define a joyous home, the psyche determines the
quality of the mind and hence, the persona of an individual. To be in
constant touch with your mental state in essential for understanding and
comprehending any personal or ethical dilemmas one might face at any
given point in life. To “know thyself” is the first step towards the pursuit of
happiness, and exploring oneself keeps the fireplace of this attained
happiness burning to keep one warm on cold, desolate days.
Happiness can be attained when one decides to treat one’s mind like a
mansion that – while indubitably has a strong foundation – requires utmost
care when it comes to weathering violent hailstorms, and emerging
victorious yet again, ready for a new challenge.
– Ishani