What to Do When You Lose Faith in Life?
This piece is for those who’ve felt the weight of frustration, despair, helplessness, confusion, disappointment, anger, and resignation. You confront a harsh truth, becoming disillusioned with yourself. You realize you can be as foolish as those you disdain. You taste the bitterness of loneliness. You lose faith in humanity, seeing life playing games with your emotions, its cycles ensnaring you in its complexities, compelling you to play along.
You grow weary chasing others’ expectations, frustrated when your efforts are rebuffed, envious when others effortlessly attain what you covet, and anxious when luck and opportunity turn their backs on you. You can’t confide in anyone. Negative emotions engulf you. You strive to fight back, but the way out eludes you.
I offer three mantras to liberate yourself and, thereafter, believe in yourself.
Let it be & love yourself – Release
Regardless of the truth, it’s in the past, immutable. Your present emotions are what control you. You desire to master your emotions, yet find it futile. Negative emotions breed negative moods and thoughts. I won’t urge you to think positively or cease thinking altogether, for it’s akin to drops of water on a blazing fire within. Instead, learn to observe the emotions within you.
The key is to allow those emotions to surface, without resistance. Recognize what you’re feeling and accept it as a genuine life experience. It’s as essential as all the flavors of life. A person feasting solely on sweets won’t feel as fulfilled as one who savors all the nuances of existence. Later, you’ll find yourself much enriched having felt the trials others have endured. Embracing your emotions, they’ll cease to control you. You and they will gradually merge, for your ego needs you to heed the messages from your own wounds. Exercise patience and self-love, rather than anger and harshness toward yourself. Learning to love yourself amidst psychological turmoil is a survival skill in this 4.0 era.
Enjoy the little things – Meditation
When your mind falters, don’t force yourself beyond your limits. Distance yourself from the most negative aspects, and find solace in the small joys. Indulge in a morning coffee, take an early afternoon nap, or sip tea alone at a set hour. Go for a run, listen to music, breathe. These are the tenets of meditation. Many deem meditation as lofty, yet it’s truly about employing our minds to perceive the slightest changes without judgment.
Breathing is meditation, walking is meditation, listening to music is meditation, and certainly, writing is meditation. Pour your thoughts onto paper, expel the negatives, and embrace the small gifts of the present. By focusing on these fleeting pleasures, you’ll feel content and grateful for life’s offerings. The negatives can eventually transform into positives if you convert and derive enlightenment from this real-life experience. Losing faith itself is an experience or a gift bestowed by life, a chance to be reborn into a more resilient version.
Pick yourself up – Awakening
If you’ve consumed enough narratives, you’ll know the most uninspiring tale is one where the protagonist is born at the finish line. Settings, conflicts, and transformations are the essence of every life story. When negative pasts cease to influence your present, it’s a sign of recovery for the future. If you’ve perused this piece, you’ll realize there’s nothing permanently stagnant in life. What you need is motivation, energy, plans, and time.
