What does happiness mean to you? Happiness means different things to different people and maybe even different things at different times.
I’ve found that when most people talk about happiness, they relate it to some circumstance, event, material acquisition or behavior of another person. In other words, something external, and often uncontrollable.
What would it mean to be happy without regard for the facts and circumstances of your life? Hard to imagine? Maybe substituting another word like peaceful or joyful is more descriptive to that underlying state of awareness that we are exactly where we are supposed to be in this eternal now.
Maybe this sounds impossible to you. Everything is most certainly not ok. You’re sure I wouldn’t even suggest that this pervasive sense of well-being is possible if I just knew your particular issues, challenges, circumstances.
Here’s what I know. It is possible. And when living in this state of the mindful Now, the circumstances of our life also tend to flow more easily. It’s not that you’ll never have another challenge in your life, but you no longer need to experience the suffering.
I love Eckhart Tolle’s analogy of a lighted candle. When placed in the middle of a dark room, the candle is important and prominent in the room. However, if the curtains are thrown open to the sunny day outside, the candle is no longer important and is in fact barely noticeable. The flame hasn’t changed but it’s now engulfed in light. This is what happens to our problems when we reside in the eternal Now.
When we live in turmoil, it manifests in stress, unwanted physical conditions, poor relationships and more. How much difference would it make in your life to live in peace instead?