During a yoga session this summer, while practicing one of my favorite poses - Child’s Pose (Balasana) these words came forth and have resonated within my heart ever since. I have come to consider them as “my personal mantra” which I now return to on a regular basis.

I surrender to this day.

This does not mean to “give up” or “put up” with some negative or destructive people or conditions. Rather, to live with surrender means to live with grace, rather than to live in a state of resistance.

May it bring what it may.

This means to trust ourselves and to trust life that whatever takes place is always in our best interest and for our highest good. This may not always be what we want but it is always what we need to grow, evolve, and mature mentally and emotionally, and expand our consciousness. It means to focus on internal mastery rather than on external control, which only creates stress.

I proceed with mindfulness.

To live with mindfulness means to take accountability and responsibility for our actions; it means to live with presence and awareness. It means being a conscious life creator.

It takes no effort to be reactive and lash out with all sorts of thoughts, words, emotions, and actions. On the other hand, it takes mindfulness to respond to life effectively and keep our reactivity in check. The more you commit to practicing mindfulness, the more ease and inner peace you live with.

To live my life with happiness.

This means to make a choice of empowerment; it means to let go of the Ego’s need to identify as any kind of victim. Happiness is in our hands, regardless of what happens or does not happen in our lives. Our happiness is our own responsibility. Regardless of what happens in our relationships, work, home, or any external environment, if you cannot change your role or place in that circumstance, you can always change the internal framework of your mind to arrive at a place of acceptance and effective action to see things in a new way that is based on surrender, equanimity, and inner peace.

Love, compassion, and equanimity are a choice and option for each one of us. The question is only whether we choose these options or not as part of our daily life.