"You will not find a new country, you will not find another sea.

This city will follow you.
You will wander the same streets again.
You will grow old in the same neighborhood;
"and gray hairs will fall in the same houses.
In the end you will come back to this city.
Don't expect anything else
No ship to board, no road to take.
Whatever you've spent your life doing, it's here, in this corner,
So you have consumed the whole earth."

This is my favorite poem by Konstantinos Kavafis, the dramatic poet of Alexandria, the land of dreams...
Although there is refreshment in changing places, it is not very effective. Jealousy, anger, resentment, betrayal, fear, passion, love do not leave us when we change countries.
"The fatal wound remains in our bosom," says Virgilius.
Sorrows and troubles haunt us in the castle, the palace, the sea, the forest.
"And sorrow comes riding on the saddle of our horse" (Horatius).

Many times people think that they are liberated by changing places, but it is like changing the chains, not being freed from bondage. It is to volunteer for the same bondage elsewhere. Because wherever the soul is overwhelmed, it is always the same soul.

But we are not our moods. We are the creators of our moods, which we can change in a single second. We are not our thoughts. We are the thinkers of our thoughts. We must learn to go beyond our moods, to choose and change our thoughts, not our country...
"Why do you seek another sun and another earth? Do you flee from yourself by fleeing from your homeland?" asks Horatius, referring to Montaigne: "We need to get rid of our crowded states within us, we need to tear ourselves away from ourselves"...

To those who say they will send you into exile, Epictetus said: "Is there a country beyond the world where they will send me? Wherever I go, will I not find the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars? Will I not have dreams and fortune? Will I not have sorrows and pains?"

Is it possible to escape to peace without being purified within? Is it possible to play the leading role in our own lives without taking our lives into our own hands?

Is it possible to take on the responsibilities of our own lives instead of being trapped in the emerald green sets of our personal stories and held captive in distant cities?

If life consists of days strung together like a magnificent pearl necklace, is it possible to freely enjoy the sapphire blue skies instead of being imprisoned in the distant lands of our souls?

In "Thoughts and Conversations", Epictetus describes it as follows: "What do children do when they are alone? They have fun, they collect pebbles and sand and build little castles, which they soon tear down. So there is always a lot of fun. Can't you do with wisdom and intelligence what they do because of childhood or madness? There is gravel and sand everywhere. There is already so much to build and tear down within us. Let us never complain of loneliness and sorrow".

To change our lives, we don't necessarily need to burn things down like sand castles. Change begins the moment you sincerely decide to change. It doesn't have to be months or years; focus on your thoughts as much as possible and become aware of your inner dialogue. Try to direct all your attention to the quality of your thoughts. This awareness will be the first step to changing them. For a few months, at least 21 days, train your mind with only positive, encouraging, beautiful and peaceful thoughts. See the external effects of your life gradually changing in this way...

As peace and happiness fills you, as love overflows, as love flows, peace, health and success will begin to flow in a chain and miraculous way, if it is divinely meant to be;
As in a Chinese proverb:
IF YOU KEEP A GREEN BRANCH IN YOUR HEART, SINGING BIRDS WILL COME...

Mukaddes Pekin Başdil

Researcher-Author

Source: Denizli Haber