Children, a very common problem in the world today is tension or mental stress. Tension robs us of our peace of mind, free time and self-confidence. Tension weakens us. If it continues for too long, the mind and body can fall very ill. It can even destroy our life. Tension eats away at the body and, like a virus, it spreads to those who associate with us.There are some people who, without any reason, start thinking that their future is filled with doom. If the husband is delayed coming home from the office, the wife will start thinking, “Did he get into an accident?” or “He often complains about chest pain. Could he have had a heart attack?” Later, they realise that all their fear was over nothing. Most people have had moments like this.
Even when we have real problems, worrying about them is not going to solve them. It just makes a problem the size of a rat seem as big as a mountain.Tension comes when we abuse our power of imagination. It is like trying to open a lock by turning the key to the left. The lock will not open. Then we lament, “Oh, the lock is broken!”
People often pour a bit of water into milk to prevent it from boiling over. This will help for some time, but the real solution is to turn off the stove. Similarly, we can only really solve our problems if we act understanding their real cause. If we give a toy to a child who is crying from hunger, he/she may stop crying for a short while. But after some time, he/she will throw the toy away and resume crying. To make the baby stop crying, we have to give him/her food.
God has given all of us the ability to assess each situation and solve our problems. But today we are using our power of imagination to create nonexistent problems and worry about them. If we maintain presence of mind and self-confidence, we can easily solve all of our problems.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian