2. BE AWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTS

This might come off as a surprise, but the root of our sufferings is not life, or what happens around us. It's the weight and meaning we give to those happenings in our thoughts; ultimately it's our mind.

Thoughts are the consequence of electrical impulses generated in our brain, likely to get more frequent under physical stress conditions. It's a biological process that happens regardless of the type of thoughts.

Our mind is a "software" generating thoughts, a powerful tool—a machine similar to a computer. It has immense information storage and computing capacity, and it's bound to be our servant to help us live in the best, safest way.

However, like all machines, it has limitations and a letdown.

Being a tool for survival, our mind prioritizes storing danger-related information.

Let's say we had an accident because we carelessly crossed the road, its memory will be labeled and stored as vital information, prioritized over the fact that we crossed the road a thousand times without any injury. Consequently, every time we'd try to cross a road afterward, our mind would start its safety procedure, putting us in alarm.

In a world where life-threatening experiences aren't so common, emotional traumas tend to become the main record of tips for a proper survival, earning us a sense of danger for emotion-related situations.

Our mind also uses its computing capacity to analyze our past and speculate about our future. Unfortunately or fortunately, our future is yet to come and our past can't be changed. We need to be aware that this procedure is just a program our brain is running, and not something we should linger on.

Our mind is our servant, while we are the master. That's why we should not be identified with it. We need to be aware its limitations and be able to discern when its suggestions are useful and when they are hindering our inner peace, and limiting our possibilities to experience the beauty of everything surrounding us.

When our servant isn't able to do its job, and goes on blabbering about, unable to bring any effective improvement, detached observation and silence are our best choices.

We should observe and quiet our mind, whenever we can't switch to positive or creative thinking.

Our mind is a machine that requires processing and computing, it automatically chooses to analyze over settling down. Any tools that provide a shift in awareness are welcomed to rid of the tensions—dynamic or still meditation, physical activities, or any sort of attention capturing past-time. Those include listening to music, drawing, singing, dancing and so on. Creative thinking is also pretty useful in the cool-down process.

Mastering our minds requires time, commitment and patience, yet it's a necessary requirement for true happiness.

In order to enjoy the present, we need to be in the present.