“Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.”
– Mildred Barthel
Kabir – The couplet
???? ??? ?? ??? ???, ???? ?? ?? ??? |
?? ????? ??? ??, ??? ??? ???, ??? ???? ||
transliterated:
Jhute sukh ko sukh kahe, maanat hai man mauj |
Jag chabena kaal ka, kuch mukh mein, kuch gaud ||
Translation:
We often mistake sensual pleasure for satisfaction, and the mind is led astray|
The world (us) is chewing time, some in the mouth, the rest in food displays||
My thoughts:
When I want to be happy, I search for things that will satisfy me. Around me, everyone resorts to food as the first step in this path. Inevitably, my search unearths more than I need to satiate my body’s hunger. So now I have to find a way to preserve it to savor later when I will be hungry again, and the cycle repeats.
Meanwhile, I have lost track of the original purpose – to be happy. And it keeps digging itself further into the background till it is almost completely forgotten. All this while, on the other hand, I have been nurturing the opposites – desire (for taste), frustration (not finding what my mind wants but brain cannot define in the form of readily available food), jealousy (for those who seem to be able to enjoy the food on their plate) and heartache (from all the indigestion I bring on myself from the food I eat).
Others try to find happiness in their soul mate. The first struggle is to find the one that will be the soul mate. Then we spend a large portion of our life shaping and re-molding the person to be the perfect fit – only to realize we have changed ourselves during all this time, and so we need to re-mold, all over again, from the beginning. If only we can realize that our real mate is not the one we love, but the one that loves us. And if we can learn to love that person, without doubt or question, the perfect marriage has once again happened. The rest that remains is to stay true to purpose. Happiness comes when we accept without question, and spread sunshine when we can, and step away when we cannot.
The pursuit of sensual pleasures takes us away from the path to true happiness and satisfaction. Food, craving, desire for love, earthly possessions, even the wish to see the sun rise a specific way in a specific place are all sensual cravings. The satisfaction they give is very momentary, and it always leaves us feeling a little emptier and craving a lot more – until we realize that the desire is an endless pit that will never fill.
True happiness, realized from simple events (I can breathe, I can smile, my heart still beats, I can still think) always stays a brimming cup, and spreads sunshine into the darkest places. One happy person can light up a roomful of people lost under craving.
Be happy – do not chase after desire!