Paradigm

I came across with this word back in Sec 4. I can still remember it was in my English Prelim paper for comprehension, under the vocabulary component. We were asked to define paradigm in less than seven words and I really didn't know the meaning. If I'm not wrong I wrote it as thought, or lesson. Or did I even leave this question blank? I forgot. But yes, it's a powerful word indeed.

Paradigm is defined as mindset. Or the way we think about a particular topic or matter. The second time I came across this word is in one of Stephen Covey's book about the 7 habits of highly effective people, under the title "Paradigm shift". Which is a change in mindset. I think paradigm is a powerful word. It somehow shapes our thoughts, our way of thinking, and eventually our character.

Today I came across a thought - how a simple change in mindset about a particular matter can change the situation we are facing differently - for better or for worst. And hence I came up with this line:

"The distance between heaven and hell, is a mindset"

I am inspired by a Buddhist saying that we are the creators our of our own heaven and hell. And that heaven and hell is actually in our mind. Which is kinda true. I think we depict heaven as a beautiful paradise where everything is full of wonders and just simply nice. And hell as a horrible place to be where we suffer endlessly. Well I think heaven and hell is simply as a mental state that we face after we do something. And yes, it can be either a beautiful or horrible state to be in.

Say we did something bad to other people - we feel bad right? This is our "hell". The guilt, anger and hatred we face and we create, is basically the hell we enter. And if we do something good to other people, we feel awesome and nice! This is our "heaven". So it's true when they say you'll go to hell if you do bad things and heaven if you do good ones. Where we go after we die, nobody knows. But hey, heaven and hell already exists in our current life! So don't be afraid, we'll have a taste of them.

And heaven and hell, doesn't just revolve around actions. But it goes deeper into our thoughts. Say we suspect someone of stealing our stuff. We will feel annoyed, worried and suspicious of the person until we know the truth - this is our hell. But if we just let go and simply wait for the truth to suffice, without suspecting that person, we feel free and relieved - this is our heaven.

I feel guilty sometimes, for "disliking" someone just because they did something bad to me in the past. To an extent, whatever they do don't seem right to me. Which is totally ridiculous because this kind of feeling is totally unnecessary hah. And this is mindset. If we have a negative mindset towards someone, we'll go to our hell. And if we cultivate positive thoughts towards them - we go to heaven.

Happiness can be reached with a simple change of mindset. I used to be (or am still) a paranoid person. My friends know me the best about this. I used to feel scared and worried about things that have not happened. And sometimes it's killing me inside. But as time goes by, I learned to let things go. I learned that worrying about something doesn't help me in any way - but they torture me instead.

So yes, try to change your mindset a bit sometimes. You'll take an elevator ride straight to heaven from hell when you do this! But be wary too, that a change of your mindset might send you straight to hell.