Finding Lasting Happiness In a Changing World

Today many people find life stressful, as they look for security and lasting happiness in a world that’s changing rapidly. So where could you possibly find happiness that lasts? Perhaps in the last place you would think to look.

After all, do you know how difficult it is to get happiness from things in the world? OK, let’s see how many moving parts have to come together in order to get the happiness that you want. Here’s an example. If my new car crashes as I pull out of the dealer’s lot, then my happiness will quickly turn into misery. Or if the car breaks down in a week and becomes a lemon, then the thing that was the source of my happiness becomes the source of my sorrow.

But let’s say the car remains in good condition, does that guarantee happiness? No, I have to retain the ability to drive it, don’t I? If I lose my driver’s license or my sight, I will no longer be able to drive this car. Then the thing that caused my happiness will lose its luster.

And then to top it off, even if my car remains in good condition, and I retain the capacity to drive it, my mind can change. If while driving my new car down the road I ruminate on my problems at work, I may think, “Darn, I wish I could be happier.” So how many moving parts have to line up for happiness: the object, your ability to enjoy it, and your mind. I think you’ll agree that’s too many parts.

So now you must really wonder how I could ever write about how to find lasting happiness. With everything in motion, you must think that I’m completely mad. But I have a secret that I didn’t tell you. If you can comprehend the depths of this secret, you will find the happiness that you are looking for.

So here it goes: “Happiness comes from the place where you actually experience it, not from the things that you see”. Now we take the happiness that’s rightfully ours and project it onto our thoughts and objects in a world that we see. Then we ask these objects to give us the happiness that actually comes from us anyway. Convoluted, isn’t it? Besides things can’t give you what you already have.

When you experiment a little, and find the still place that these words point to, you will discover that you are a king or queen, and have inherited untold wealth. Forgetting your inherited wealth, you took yourself to be a beggar, begging for scraps of happiness that you find in this ever-changing world.

Once you discover the reservoir of happiness that you find inside, you will be able to rest in your new-found treasure. You will then be free from the ups and downs of the world. And even your mind will come to rest in its newfound joy.