happiness is always within us

I remember a few years back, I was blessed to have a Buddhist Meditation Center in the neighborhood that I used to live in. I had a great friendship with one of the Buddhist monks and enjoyed talking to her when I was in the midst of despair and suffering. She was very kind and compassionate. The words that she once spoke to me in our conversations still echo in my mind to this day: “Happiness is a state of mind and it is always within us.” It took me a while to understand the depth of those words but once I did, it changed my perception towards life.

There is no point in pursuing happiness because it’s an abstract notion. It’s a false premise if we think we will attain happiness by finishing tasks or scratching things off of our to-do list. Happiness is all about awareness.

Our happiness does not lie caged in a beautifully wrapped box that someone can steal away from us. It’s an illusion that others have control over our happiness. Happiness itself is an illusion in many respects. It’s a heightened, ephemeral sense of feeling good. Happiness never depends on external objects, validation, and circumstances, or our interactions with others. Happiness is always within us. It’s our access to happiness that changes as time passes. If we pursue happiness, it will elude us. Instead, we have to focus on doing things that make us feel good.

GET YOUR COPY OF THE DAILY APPLE BOOK HERE.