When we are here in this moment in time, and if we aren’t happy in this moment in time, we believe our peace and happiness lies somewhere in the future. It’s there, out there somewhere. It’s not here, it’s not here with me, but out there.
Maybe, our happiness is attached to some car, or some purse, or some person, or some destination. Once, we get there, we will be happy. By now, all of you must know this story and how it ends.
The universe can be rather dastardly in giving us its teachings. We teach that thing that we had been working towards, and all of a sudden, we realize we are still not happy.
Damn! Okay, no worries.
I’m sure my happiness is somewhere in the future, somewhere out there, somewhere in that next t-shirt I will buy. Or that beautiful person that I will date. Or that Korean drama that I will watch.
Happiness Never Comes To Those Who Seek It
We think we know what happiness is, but we don’t. We seek it, but it doesn’t come. It doesn’t show up when we expect it to be there. We wait with tapping feet, but it’s not there.
And all of a sudden, we get tired of waiting. We get tired of all of the drama.
We slow down and soften. Meditate and chill out.
Sit down, and stare off into space. Be here, and be alive.
Out of nowhere, happiness comes and plops itself down on the stair next to us, or on the bedspread beside us.
What the hell? Where did you come from? I wasn’t even looking for you, we say to it.
It smiles it in that sage way, and says, exactly.
We are confused and say, exactly what? And it says nothing.
We realize, okay, I am happy now, I have happiness, why am I asking it stupid questions and we calm down.
Peace Is Exactly The Same
We seek something with rage and anger. Hatred and strong emotions. It doesn’t mean that we should stop seeking everything and just let everything come to us.
But why bring such strong emotions into it? Go after it with joy and goodness in your heart.
If you get it in this lifetime, awesome. If you don’t get it in this lifetime, great as well.
Sometimes, I feel a moment of peace and I think, wow, I have reached it, and as soon as I reach out to touch it, it dissipates like a tiny bubble. It is so ethereal and fragile.
We cannot use our pudgy, sweaty fingers to touch it. It will just blast it into oblivion.
Do you know what peace looks like? It comes and goes. And it only comes to those who aren’t running after it with a hunger so strong that they can’t even tell when peace has arrived in their house.
It’s sitting there quietly at the dinner table, waiting for us all to realize that it’s there. And all we are doing is running around, screaming, doing, and chattering away at high speed.
Soon, it realizes it’s not going to be noticed in this household and it disappears.
Stillness And Silence – Stare Off Into Space To Notice Peace, Happiness
When was the last time you sat down on your chair or bed and just stared off into space? Never? Last year? A decade ago? Perhaps, when you were a child?
The thing with me is that I used to imagine sitting and staring off into space was a waste of time.
Do, do, do, do more. That was the refrain that beat its insane drum in my head every single day.
Do more. Do more. That’s the only thing I heard all day long.
But, nothing that I wanted came to me. No peace. No happiness.
I ran around, and my life was barren of the good stuff.
Now, I sit around a lot more. I berate myself sometimes for being lazy, for needing so much time to sit around and stare into space. But it feels so good.
I sit there and stare off into space.
And surprisingly, that peace and happiness, that pair who was sitting next to me the whole time, suddenly came into view. I hadn’t ever seen them before, because I was too busy in my head and work.
But now, they are sitting here, and I see them.
I can touch them. I can hug them. Hold them. Speak to them.
Make them healthier and bigger by feeding them more silence and stillness.
Eventually, I can start noticing them even when I am not calmly sitting down. I can see them all around. Even when I am walking around.
The miracles of life. The peace and happiness that you seek is on the other side of that activity that you think is going to get you there.
Sit down. Stare off into space. Calm down. Relax. Breathe. Just be still.
Do you feel it yet?
