Would buying a new toaster / a nice bottle of wine / new pillows...would these make you happy...? and what about buying a box of cereal / your favorite pizza / toothpaste ...?
Really...! this is what makes people happy... ? because if that’s the case then why would they ever be ‘unhappy’ ?
Heck, they could pick on anything and decide that it will make them the happiest person on earth - “Hey, it’s snowing - I’m happy”... “Hey, it stopped snowing - I’m happy”... or even better “Look, my favorite socks - I’m so happy...” [it just never ends...]
And I can hear some of you saying “Well, what’s wrong with that” ... nothing much - except that ‘Happiness’, being an Internal State, should never be dependent on external influences...because - you know - at some point all this ‘materialism’ will end - and what will happen to you then ?...will you just run off in search for the next, and next, and next... ? and if you can’t immediately satisfy that craving, do you become sad / disappointed / morose / maybe even resentful that this great vacation has come to an end and now you have to [ye gads] ‘go back to work’ [sounds to me too much like an addiction, or even an obsession...]
Look, I’m not saying that we should not find material things pleasurable, after all who doesn’t like a really good French pastry...but to let it have so much power over you, to dictate how you should feel...well, that’s just not right.
So, if ‘Happiness’ should not be defined by materialism... how do we find it ... what gives rise to it ... and really, what actually is Happiness...?
And here’s the strangest thing - everyone I spoke to said that they have experienced it - but can’t really describe it... Oh, a few talked about brain chemistry [but that to me sounds more like ‘pleasure receptors’ rather than true happiness]... others talked about Inner Peace - that felt too quiet, too passive - while for me ‘happiness’ is an active state... and a few [perceptive ones] described it as a state of Higher Consciousness, attained once we remove ourselves from material attachments / dependence, and focus on Beauty [which truly is all around us] ...and it is this Higher Focus, which makes us realize what True Happiness is.
So here it is in a nutshell - do not focus on things that are violent / destructive / belittling / offensive... and realize the simple beauty that exists all around [yes, even in finding your favorite socks]... and as you get in touch with your own Inner Radiance, then value this feeling, for that will lead you to happiness ... the Law is clear - As Within, so Without ...Happiness starts first inside of you, and should not be dependent on the external
Ah, what an interesting Path we have chosen - and I am glad [happy ?] that we all walk it together ...Namaste...
