Happiness is yours, you need only grasp it.
It doesn't come from money, possessions, social status, job or anything else. Those can be taken and true happiness will never be found in anything fleeting. There will always be the nagging fear that it could be taken away, that keeps us from experiencing true happiness. Even if you say you don't fear that, where does the motivation to keep, or gain more of the things in which we find our happiness? Fear of loss, the fear of losing them and with them our happiness.
Happiness is not from people either. They aren't "us" (they aren't me) they don't have all of our opinions, actions, reactions, morals, standards and so on. When we count on them for our happiness, we will always be left wanting and unfulfilled. When we find someone very similar the temptation to change them is far too great. Of course we can’t tell them they must change. “If I stop picking up their laundry and start leaving mine all over, then they’ll see.” We think. We step away from ourselves to “change” them and the head games start. We make ourselves miserable and anyone we share our life with. It might not be a constant misery, but there is always friction and uncertainty, which defeats any happiness we get from it. So many ways we have found to manipulate ourselves and others to bring about when we believe will be happiness, and never is.
The world, life, existence will not bring happiness either. It will never fit my specific standards because it is shared. You can make some of the people happy all of the time and all of the people happy some of the time, right? There will never be happiness through this. Even a concept such as peace cannot be agreed upon by all. We can’t even define what that means in such a way so everyone can agree.
Happiness is an open hand. Happiness is an open heart. Happiness is an open mind. Happiness is nothing. It is no thing.
Happiness is within each of us. It is an alignment with our higher selves. When we trust someone and they let us down repeatedly we learn not to trust them. The same goes with us. I believe low self esteem and low self image are the direct result of not walking in the light of our true selves. I say that instead of saying “speaking our truth” because do we even KNOW our truth anymore? We have chased an external happiness so long that we have become a character of ourselves, a mask, the lead in the movie of our lives which plays on the blank white screen of our minds. We have separated ourselves from everyone else. We have made all those in our lives “supporting cast” and then get frustrated when they don’t stick to the script. When we “think” of what to say we are plotting. However good our intentions are, we are thinking to the future and planning an outcome. That outcome is dependent on another person and will never bring happiness. Being our true selves is not linear, is not plotted against others, or the world. It is a constantly learning and growing standard of behavior for ourselves only. You only have to be better than yourself to grow.
True happiness is when we act as our true selves with no filter and accept all others as our fellow human beings. We all have the same flaws, they are simply expressed through different channels. There is a Buddhist concept I happen to love and try to follow. We are the only flawed person. All others are perfect and if we see them as less than perfect it is only a projection of our consciousness upon them reflecting when we refuse to see in ourselves. I believe we all have our flaws, but when I see past mine reflected in you, deal with them so that I can truly see your spirit, you are perfect. You’re a being within the human experience. I know what that is like, I’m there too. Maybe you’re dealing with your own challenges, but that has nothing to do with me directly and I can find happiness. I can let go of ideals (concepts of future circumstances) when I am no longer plotting my next move, or the next revision to the script and open my hands to accept.
I can open my heart for there is nothing within me to stop me. I am no longer in my own way. When I am not projecting my own flaws onto you, I can see you for who you truly are and love you without limit.
I can open my mind and accept that I might be wrong when I take an honest approach. When I am only trying to be better than myself, being wrong is the only way I grow. My mind can be open to you and your ideas so that I may grow from them, even if that growth is the knowledge that I don’t agree.
When I realize that I am the source of my happiness and make the changes I need to make to walk within the light of my truth, all the pretense fades, all the time I spent plotting and revising is now open, like my arms, to love. Happiness has been there all along, I had piled so much emotional baggage on it that I could no longer see it there shining from the center of myself.
The Metta Prayer:
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
It doesn't come from money, possessions, social status, job or anything else. Those can be taken and true happiness will never be found in anything fleeting. There will always be the nagging fear that it could be taken away, that keeps us from experiencing true happiness. Even if you say you don't fear that, where does the motivation to keep, or gain more of the things in which we find our happiness? Fear of loss, the fear of losing them and with them our happiness.
Happiness is not from people either. They aren't "us" (they aren't me) they don't have all of our opinions, actions, reactions, morals, standards and so on. When we count on them for our happiness, we will always be left wanting and unfulfilled. When we find someone very similar the temptation to change them is far too great. Of course we can’t tell them they must change. “If I stop picking up their laundry and start leaving mine all over, then they’ll see.” We think. We step away from ourselves to “change” them and the head games start. We make ourselves miserable and anyone we share our life with. It might not be a constant misery, but there is always friction and uncertainty, which defeats any happiness we get from it. So many ways we have found to manipulate ourselves and others to bring about when we believe will be happiness, and never is.
The world, life, existence will not bring happiness either. It will never fit my specific standards because it is shared. You can make some of the people happy all of the time and all of the people happy some of the time, right? There will never be happiness through this. Even a concept such as peace cannot be agreed upon by all. We can’t even define what that means in such a way so everyone can agree.
Happiness is an open hand. Happiness is an open heart. Happiness is an open mind. Happiness is nothing. It is no thing.
Happiness is within each of us. It is an alignment with our higher selves. When we trust someone and they let us down repeatedly we learn not to trust them. The same goes with us. I believe low self esteem and low self image are the direct result of not walking in the light of our true selves. I say that instead of saying “speaking our truth” because do we even KNOW our truth anymore? We have chased an external happiness so long that we have become a character of ourselves, a mask, the lead in the movie of our lives which plays on the blank white screen of our minds. We have separated ourselves from everyone else. We have made all those in our lives “supporting cast” and then get frustrated when they don’t stick to the script. When we “think” of what to say we are plotting. However good our intentions are, we are thinking to the future and planning an outcome. That outcome is dependent on another person and will never bring happiness. Being our true selves is not linear, is not plotted against others, or the world. It is a constantly learning and growing standard of behavior for ourselves only. You only have to be better than yourself to grow.
True happiness is when we act as our true selves with no filter and accept all others as our fellow human beings. We all have the same flaws, they are simply expressed through different channels. There is a Buddhist concept I happen to love and try to follow. We are the only flawed person. All others are perfect and if we see them as less than perfect it is only a projection of our consciousness upon them reflecting when we refuse to see in ourselves. I believe we all have our flaws, but when I see past mine reflected in you, deal with them so that I can truly see your spirit, you are perfect. You’re a being within the human experience. I know what that is like, I’m there too. Maybe you’re dealing with your own challenges, but that has nothing to do with me directly and I can find happiness. I can let go of ideals (concepts of future circumstances) when I am no longer plotting my next move, or the next revision to the script and open my hands to accept.
I can open my heart for there is nothing within me to stop me. I am no longer in my own way. When I am not projecting my own flaws onto you, I can see you for who you truly are and love you without limit.
I can open my mind and accept that I might be wrong when I take an honest approach. When I am only trying to be better than myself, being wrong is the only way I grow. My mind can be open to you and your ideas so that I may grow from them, even if that growth is the knowledge that I don’t agree.
When I realize that I am the source of my happiness and make the changes I need to make to walk within the light of my truth, all the pretense fades, all the time I spent plotting and revising is now open, like my arms, to love. Happiness has been there all along, I had piled so much emotional baggage on it that I could no longer see it there shining from the center of myself.
The Metta Prayer:
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
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