Chemistry

Back when I used to be sciences enthuse I have studied toxicity in Chemistry. Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Recently I have been reading about a different type of toxicity. This is the toxicity that prevails among friends, among family, among society, among countries and on the whole among humanity. 

I remember a story my dad used to tell me. Lord Krishna asked Dharma and Duryodhana to find one virtuous man and one vice man from their kingdom. Both of them set out at dawn and returned empty handed by dusk. The Lord questioned them and Dharma replied “Hey Krishna I set out on the quest and met hundreds of my subjects I was not able to meet even one vice man, all the men I met were virtuous, so I was not able to pick a single person”, Krishna smiled and asked Duryodhana who replied “I too met hundreds of my subjects and I was not able to meet even one virtuous man, all of them were evil so I was not able to pick a single person”. 

This anecdote from the Mahabaratha explains the way our mind mirrors our thoughts and our actions reflect those in our everyday life. Someone who sees good in everyone reflects their purity and genuinity. Likewise someone who sees evil in everyone reflects their corrupted and toxic nature. 

Negativity is the most toxic state of mind. Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn others just to see a small spark of light. When someone is negative and toxic remember it’s not about us, it’s a reflection of their inner state. Positivity is like a candle, even in pitch dark situations there is always a glimmer of hope. When someone spreads happiness it is the inner brightness that emanates the outer light. When this light shines too bright it creates sensitivity in the eyes of toxic people and they automatically distance themselves from us. 

 Life is short. Let’s not waste it with negative people who don’t appreciate or understand us. We should not let the toxicity of others rent a space in our head, we should learn to raise the rent and kick them out. There is always a time to be a nice person and there is a time to say enough is enough. It takes a lot of courage to break a cycle of toxicity. The thing about being brave is it doesn’t come with the absence of fear and hurt. Bravery is the ability to look fear and hurt in the face and say move aside you are in the way. We should never let a bad situation bring out the worst in us. We should choose to be strong and positive. 

When our body is filled with toxic chemicals we try de-tox by eating healthy and exercising regularly. Similarly when our life is filled with toxic people with pessimistic thoughts trying to destroy our peace, we have to learn to think positively, forgive them for their shortcomings and lead a healthy life. We should neutralize the negative energy trying to engulf our happiness, by incinerating off putting voices and feeding our mind with optimistic approaches. 

Positivity is not just smiling or laughing all the time. Positivity is not showing everyone that you are happy. Positivity is not thinking highly of oneself. Positivity is the inert quality of seeing the good in every human. Positivity is the attitude of cultivating gratitude. Positivity is nurturing good intentions and treating other human beings with compassion and empathy. Positivity is live and let live. I am ready to light the path towards growth .....are you?