Dhruva, my son was ready to go to school. I brought the car keys and unlocked the car using the remote key. Just then I saw my brother, four years older than I am, walk down the apartment pathway and crossed my gateway, listening to something that he had started playing on his mobile. He had his AirPods on. He had a smile on his face. The mind produced a thought that my brother did not look at me. It felt sad instantly and was grieving. I got into the car and started it, the sight of my brother passing by still playing in the mind.
As we started and I turned the car into the parallel street, Dhruva cracked a joke. I tried my best to laugh, but it turned out to be something awful, as if like a goat bleating.
After driving ten minutes, I arrived at the metro station, where Dhruva would get down and board the metro to go to his school. He waved me bye and walked away. I started driving back home with my brother passing by the gate, still fresh in the mind.
Just then, a thought occurred, as if it came as a saviour. It spoke, why don’t you go back to that image? What do you see, the mind asked. I said, he had a smile on his face. Didn’t he look handsome? Asked the mind. My point of view shifted and in a wink of an eyelid, my face lit up and I had a smile.
That moment taught me something about mastering emotions. The mind creates stories and feeds on them. But when we change perspective, we regain clarity.
Mastering emotions is not about control. It is about awareness.
And learning never ends.
— Dr Mahesh Krishnamurthy