Have serenity, a wonderful attitude towards life

Having serenity in the face of each vital circumstance gives us that perfect combination that goes from calm to reflection., from internal peace to prudence. More than an attitude, it is a competence that we acquire over time, with that meditated wisdom that comes with experience. Not everyone acquires it, it is evident, but this is undoubtedly a tool that we should work on.

The French writer Françoise Sagan said that for her ““Happiness was having good health, sleeping without fear, waking up without anxiety and having serenity to act.” Nothing can be so right and nothing contains a truth as obvious as that: authentic well-being is simpler than we believe and most of the time, it resides in emotional balance, in inner tranquility.

However, as we well know, it is not always so easy to assume that approach, that particular vision. After all, the opposite of serenity is nervousness and anxiety, that which cohabits with us right now, filling our minds with noise and our nightly rest with fears. We insist, this dimension, that of serenity, is not something that comes to us from the factory, it is a dimension in which we can and must enable ourselves.

Have serenity, a source of calm in complex times

Thomas Cleary, well-known historian and author of books related to Eastern tradition and wisdom, explains to us in A Bushido Anthologythat The most important quality of every samurai was mental calm. When human beings are stressed, overwhelmed by daily problems and overcome by a context and emotions that they do not know how to handle, they will act erratically and poorly.

Because the anxious mind deceives, it makes us think what is not, it sees threats almost anywhere and forces us to act on impulse. For Eastern tradition, nothing was (and is) as important as having serenity.

Only the calm mind navigates through that internal clarity in which the horizon is observed, glimpsing all possible perspectives. This relaxed approach allows the person to decide without improvising and solve problems more accurately.

All of this is inspiring to us, it is true, and we would love to be able to apply that mentality in our lives. However, how to do it? We are embedded in a fast-paced, demanding world full of stimuli, pressures and obligations. Training calm is almost like trying to walk on the roof of a high-speed train. However, as striking as it may seem to us, we can become good tightrope walkers.

To have serenity is to accept uncertainty

Having serenity can basically be described as be able to act calmly in complicated situations. But be careful, someone who is serene is not a figure who remains distant from what surrounds them, it is not acting with emotional coldness or indifference.

Quite the opposite, the person with this characteristic connects, understands and feels firsthand the difficulties or challenges that surround them but chooses not to get carried away by emotions of negative valence. He is not captive to fear, handles frustration well and maintains control of worries.

In addition, There is a facet that distinguishes them, an essential characteristic that nourishes the calm approach: the ability to accept what cannot be controlled. That is to say, they not only calmly assume the uncertainty that permeates our present and our future. Furthermore, they accept that in this life there are many things that cannot be controlled.

Self-knowledge and self-control

We pointed it out at the beginning, one comes to have serenity with the passage of time and as a result of the learning obtained through experience. But let us not think that this competence is assumed when one is already an old man. This relaxed, centered approach, able to look at the world through calm, can be acquired at any age. All you need to do is work on self-knowledge and the ability to self-control.

Both dimensions have a lot to do with emotional intelligence. Is about be able to know ourselves by developing good emotion regulation to avoid acting on impulses or automatisms.

Likewise, these skills help us to assume realistic perspectives to know that, sometimes, we cannot always have what we want, but we can have control of ourselves to look for other options, other vital paths.

Self-knowledge helps us awaken our conscience and with it, that internal clarity in which calmness germinates, that calm from which to look at the world in a more contemplative way. In this psychological sphere, disturbing anxiety has no place., the same one that makes us lose control and blurs everything. There is only harmony, connection with one’s own interior and lucidity to look around clearly.

In conclusion, To have serenity in our daily lives we only have one option: practice it, commit ourselves to it. Training this approach takes time because it involves managing emotions, controlling thoughts, reducing stress… But it can be achieved and even infect others with its wonderful influence.

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