The Four Agreements

Hello! How are you today? Today I feel awesome! I'm in a great mood and everything around me seems to be going well.

Pause, and think for a moment what comes to mind as you read this. Do you believe my words? Do you, yourself feel happy reading them? If you do, you passed. Would you like to know the reason why? Because I meant every single word I typed.
Now after that reflection, you will understand why I would recommend The Four Agreements by Don Miquel Ruiz to anyone of any age. This book is about choosing to be happy. Depression is also a choice.
So, what are the four agreements?
1. Be impeccable with your word (say it and mean it)
2. Don't take anything personally (It's not all about you)
3. Don't make assumptions (You can't read everyone's mind)
4. Always do your best

These simple agreements will affect the way you think, feel and live. Of course it is not easy to do these things all the time. But by being aware that you are the only person who controls your life, you dump so much baggage!

Last night I worked myself up into a giant black hole of depression, anxiety and disappointment. Then I started reading my journal. I read all my thoughts and discovered that the answer to my problem was right in front of me! Of course I wasn't convinced, but after a long and helpful chat with my friend Remy, I realized I had known the solution deep down. I just chose to ignore it.

Here's an excerpt of what I read in my journal:
Do you ever feel trapped in a fish bowl? Like the world goes on in a whole different area than your own? You watch from the sidelines, just wondering what it would be like if you were the one out there, doing something. This is how I feel

I go for awhile on this tangent, but then I write:
It's easier to observe the world. It's harder to live in it. So maybe that's the reason. The reason why I let myself make a box with invisible walls the size of a skyscraper was because I knew, and didn't want to accept that participating in life is hard. But you know, sitting on the sidelines isn't easy either. You miss out on the pain sure, but you also miss out on the fun, the happiness, the understanding and well. . . life!
I wrote this a year ago, sitting by the window of the dorm and staring at the people walking by, smiling and laughing. Even then, when I had told myself there was no solution, it was in front of me all along! ME! A wise friend told me, "It's all in your head," another wise one told me, "Life is about perspective". I know now that this is so incredibly true that it's completely hard to ignore. Think about it. You're in rush hour traffic, annoyed about the world, letting your thoughts sink you in a ditch and suddenly you notice that a little boy is sitting in the car in front of you waving and grinning like he won the lottery. What do you do? According to this book you have two choices:
1. ignore the boy and continue to brood
2. wave and smile back

In this situation, I chose option number 2. All of a sudden, I felt better. So all the junk in your head is your choice to keep or throw out. Negative thoughts, words, feelings, memories are in there to justify how you feel. It's the oldest rule in the world. "You can't love others until you love yourself." Here's why, emotions are contagious. So because everyone in the world wants to be happy deep down, they want you to be happy also. When you are happy, you bring so much into the world that people enjoy. It's completely true, and I realized this with the help of Remy, my roommate and the book I just finished reading. This is something I felt like sharing, and I hope it is one step toward the goal of finding myself.