A Path to Being #3: Distancing from Negativity
The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward. —Steve Maraboli
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. –Lao Tzu
Image Credit
One of the first things we must do on our quest to achieving inner peace and a path to becoming, is to distance ourselves from negativity . It doesn’t mean a life without any negativity at all, but it means controlling what we can control. It means letting go of the past, distancing ourselves from negative situations, and focusing on the positive.
Budda taught his followers how powerful it could be for them, if they changed their mental thinking patterns, to minimize their emotional pain and discomfort and to embrace change. He instilled in them the concept that certain patterns of thinking and behaving actually perpetuated their suffering and misery.
We all hold a certain amount of negative energy deep within our inner self. It may be buried so deep that we are not even aware of it. This negativity is usually on a subconscious level and in many instances, takes a major toll on our well being throughout our lives.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you kept thinking about a past wrong that hurt you? Do you repeatedly focus on a person who caused you heartbreak or a situation that caused you a great deal of stress and pain? Didn’t these past events leave scars on your inner being?
Because of these past inflictions, did you view everything through a negative perspective, did you become judgmental, did you develop negative addictions, did you start blaming others for your situation, did you try to please people whether or not you agreed with them, did you start becoming more competitive and engage in mind games, did you feel like life wasn’t fair and that you were always the victim? If you said yes to any of these, you’ll be happy to know that you are not alone. There are more people in this category than on the other side.
What are some symptoms of people who hold in negativity? Usually people who have a lot of negativity within their internal being, won’t talk about it or their past. They sometimes get that old, odd, feeling of discomfort, pain, resentment, fear and/or a queasy feeling of dread. Certain people or family make them feel uncomfortable, that they can’t be their natural self. Many repress emotions and limit their expressions. Some have extreme emotions that they can’t control like tempers, anxiety, addictive behaviors, etc. These people often feel like they are limited, like not being able to speak publicly, trying not to be noticed, always playing it safe. Others make the same mistake over and over again.
Negativity can affect our health, our mind and inner being. It can cause various illness like cancer and autoimmune diseases, it can cause mental health problems like depression, anxiety, paranoia, addictive behaviors, etc., and it can cause social and relationship issues. So, that is why it is imperative to do something about it, especially if one is seeking a path to inner peace.
In my next post, I will go over some ways to distance oneself from negativity. I hope you will continue to follow this quest of seeking a path to inner peace and a path to becoming.
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
—Oprah Winfrey
I appreciate your interest in this post and look forward to working with you on Steemit. May your week ahead be stress free and happy! Thank-you for visiting my post! If you would like to see other posts that I have created, please click HERE.
Another lovely post! I am sad that I missed them in the order they were presented. This #3 reading is the last one I've read. The whole series is wonderful and each post is just as valuable as a stand alone offering as it is within the group. I have been guilty of holding onto past hurts and that's the main thing I have been working on in the past year or so. This series will be a help to many!! Thanks again for going through the pain and coming out the other side better than ever, and willing to share the path with us, especially those of us who haven't completed the journey!! <3
Thank you Tamaralovelace. You are such a wonderful and support friend. I always look forward to your comments. I know how hard it is to let go of past hurts. Sometimes I think I got over it and then out of nowhere I get hit right between the eyes. Time has let some of my pain fade but I know that I need to erase it from my essence because I don't want to empower it any more. That is why I am writing. For some reason it is like being able to say everything on your mind and then releasing it to the public. For some people, they write their pain on paper and then burn it. I find writing posts does the same. I hope you try it too. It really helps. Have a wonder time away from work. I look forward to when you have the time to be freer!!!!! :D
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by cabbagepatch from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
Thank you @cabbagepatch for sharing the quotes and very informative content. This information could help a lot of people.
Thank-you at rensoul17. I really appreciate your interest in my post, your comments and support. It is funny, but after I expressed myself on d-pend's blog I realized that I had hit a major block in my search for inner peace. And of course your kind words also had an impact. Ever since then, I decided I had hit a point where I needed to start writing my inner feelings out, so I did on an earlier post called A path to becoming: The beginning. It felt so good when I did it so now I've regain my energy and have been working to write more meaningful pieces. I apologize for not checking your posts out. I will after this comment. I was really going through a major transition. I hope you had a great weekend. Again @rensoul17, thank-you for reaching out and showing that you cared. Thank-you! ......Cabbagepatch :D
You are welcome @cabbagepatch.
Great post! There is so much truth in your post. Negative thoughts are so pervasive - you hear them everywhere. I think the hardest part of it all is subconscious thought that you may not even be aware of. I look forward to your next post!
Thank-you Akemirayko! I've been enjoying doing this series because it has helped me to understand more about the obstacles to inner peace. Plus I wanted to do more quality than just color challenges. I will continue to try to post hopefully more regularly. I always appreciate your support! Have a nice week ahead!
yeah... so many 'unless', so much work has to be done today before moving forvard...
thank you for this article, following you for more :)
@reinikaerrant, thank-you for your comment and support. It is very much appreciated. The road to inner peace is a hard one in this world but it can be achieve if one puts their mind to it. Being kind and giving is a step forward. Thank-you for your visit!
you are sooo right :)
My dear friend congratualations what a wonderful post and you were upvoted so pleased.
Thank-you @bigbear. Your comments and support are so deeply appreciated! I hope you are doing well or at least better. Pain can be such a limiting and draining factor. I hope you are hanging in there. Have a good week ahead and please take care of yourself. Again, thank-you Bigbear for your friendship and support.......Cabbagepatch :D
This post was mind blowing, I myself have some of the above problems and have seen that my family also have them more seriously, I wish this would get out to them and the world. Every person out there need s to hear these word, It clears the mind and makes you rethink why you are a negative being. I really look forward to your next one and would appreciate if you dropped me a link for it :) hope you have a successful week further ☺
Ethan, thank-you for your support and comment. I restarted a series again on the Path to Becoming. I had hit a phase in my life where I was getting frustrated with Steemit and decided I needed to let it out. Ever since I started writing this, I felt so much better. For you it is your poetry, for me it's writing. Please take care!
Thank you :) I hope it will continue to flow and be a source of relief for you :)
I am flowing more and the expression has helped me tremendously. I just posted my next post. You wanted me to give you the link so here it is: https://steemit.com/life/@cabbagepatch/a-path-to-being-4-how-to-start-distancing-from-negativity. Have a better day! :D
Thank you I will check it out now :D
This post received a 4.9% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @cabbagepatch! For more information, click here!
Thank you for such a wonderful post.
Yoshiko, for some reason I didn't see this comment. Thank-you for supporting me and visiting this post. You are so supportive. It is deeply appreciated!
I learned about Buddha's idea. Thank you for posting.
Once again, thank-you Kinakomochi. Please have a restful weekend!