“If it weren’t for “X” my life would be just great!”
If we’re honest with ourself, we will see that we’ve repeated this mantra many times in our life---only the X has changed!
“Why is there always something in the way of my happiness?”
To answer that question we must bring into awareness the hidden assumption behind the question itself.
We’ve been deeply conditioned to believe that our happiness depends upon external circumstances; and we also believe that the obstacles to our happiness lie in external conditions. Human beings are chronically unhappy. The reason we are unhappy is not due to our life circumstances; the reason we are unhappy is because we are deluded--we are looking for happiness in all the wrong places.
The delusion is that we believe that we can acquire happiness by changing some external condition. This delusion is not your fault; it’s present in virtually every human on earth
When we were very young our sense of happiness and satisfaction was tied largely to having our physical and emotional needs met. These needs (if met) were met by something external to us—typically by parents and family. We learned to equate happiness with getting our immediate needs met.
But as we grew up things got more complicated. A full belly and a dry diaper were no longer enough to make us happy. As we got older the list of requirements for happiness grew longer and longer. We may have achieved one thing after another only to find that happiness still eludes us.
It’s not necessarily wrong to change a condition in your life; it’s often quite helpful. If you have a toothache, it may be wise to see a dentist. No problem—unless you believed that it was the toothache that was keeping you from being happy. If so, then you will once again be disappointed, because soon after the toothache is gone something else will appear to be in the way of your happiness.
There will always be some joy or sorrow that lies before you. Happiness is found not in what lies before you, but in the way that you relate to that which lies before you.
What is in your life is less important than how you live your life.
If you face each obstacle with a clear mind and an open heart then each apparent stumbling block can become another steppingstone on your journey of awakening. An obstacle for a child may be a steppingstone for an adult--it all depends on how big you are. When the mind and the heart are large enough then every seeming obstacle will become another steppingstone on the path before you.
What is in the way, is the way. Let your mind and your heart become clear and spacious. Hold each experience lightly. Make friends with every step on your journey. Begin right where you are.
�vHW,(