“In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double, so don’t worry… be happy!” (Bonus points if you heard the tune in your head)
There’s a good chance that every red-blooded American over the age of 20 has had this song stuck in their head at least once or twice in their lifetime, and as I was finding myself with this timeless tune echoing in my own brain cells the other day I was reflecting on the deeper spiritual meaning behind this song. The repeated phrase of “don’t worry, be happy” might seem to many people to be a silly proposition, when in reality it’s a wonderful reminder to the yogi of our own inner power to choose our state of consciousness. Whether you think it’s silly or instructive depends entirely on your awareness of the underlying realities at play.
I was also reflecting on the dichotomy between the ease of grasping certain mental concepts, like “don’t worry,” and the difficulty of maintaining that state of consciousness in the face of the habit-driven monkey mind. As a concept, “when you worry you make it double” makes perfect sense. If I already have troubles, they’re not changing or getting better just because I worry. But at the same time, often the reason these “troubles” are so troublesome is because of what they portend to happen in the future. How could I think about the trouble of losing my job without the obvious implication that I will soon run out of money? I may not be out of money now, but I can’t stop myself from worrying what will happen when that occurs.
Then I realized what this all really is: an opportunity. Paramhansa Yogananda stated very clearly that every obstacle we encounter in our lives is an opportunity; and that we are on this planet to be educated and entertained. But it’s hard to be entertained by worrisome things, and it’s equally hard to be educated when you’re only looking at each situation in one way. The worldly mind loves to think of worst-case scenarios, and analyze things from a contractive point of view, so the opportunity here is to replace old ways of thinking with new, expansive attitudes towards life.
So what to do with this opportunity of a worrisome life event? Practice. This, I realized, is the key to the whole lockbox of worries: practice. We are not here on this planet to develop the things we’re already good at–those are gifts to be shared with the world. No, the thing we’re here to do is develop and grow. So where do we start?
Awareness. If the only thing we do is become more and more aware, we will reach our ultimate spiritual goal of Self-realization. How do we let go of things that hold us back? By becoming aware that they exist, and that we can let them go. How do we change our perspective? By becoming aware of the possibility of new perspectives. And so on…
As yogis, we know the ways to practice this already: meditation, introspection, and contemplation. But the reason these “opportunities” still exist in your life, even after years or decades of practice in these areas, is because there’s more to unravel in the karmic weave of our lives, and more unlearned lessons that God and the Masters are helping us to learn.
Finally, there are also “partially-learned” lessons that we can continue to work with for our entire lives at varying levels, like trusting in the divine plan for our lives. We must already have a certain level of trust to be on a spiritual path so deliberately in the first place, but when we find ourselves worrying about life or world events it becomes clear where the line of that trust ends and our ego’s desire to control things begins. But as the awareness of that line grows, and as we move closer to God by giving Him our worries and fears, we look back and see that the process works. The practice works.
The only thing we need to do is keep practicing. So as you inevitably find yourself worrying about the future, or the outcome of certain events, remember not to judge yourself for your ego’s benevolent desire to protect you. Your mind, while at times untamed and wild, has been a great tool to get you to the point you’re at. Now the only thing you need to do is keep following the Great Ones, their words and practices, and continue to grow your awareness of Truth. With a higher perspective comes greater peace. With new knowledge comes new possibilities. And with increasing awareness comes the remembrance of what we are in Truth: beloved children of God who can never be lost to His sight. Blessings to you on this sacred journey that we walk together.