Do We Need a Reason To Be Happy? – Dialectic Two-Step

Question: Do We Need a Reason To Be Happy?

..and if yes then should it be tied to a person, goal or what?

Response: I think you have another alternative. First, happiness is a temporary thing. More precisely happiness is as temporary as the things that we tie it too. If we seek happiness in quick fix bursts – like sugar, sex, or shiny things – our happiness will be short lived. If we tie it to things that are lasting but more difficult to attain, happiness can be hard to come by.

The drive to attain happiness is an addiction. Once the last bit of it wears off, we’re like a junkie, driven to the next fix, whatever it takes. If we’re looking for a reason to be happy, we’re limited by the availability of the next thing. We often don’t find what we’re looking for.

But what about looking within for happiness? If there were such a thing, we would have an endless supply. Being within, we’d always be able to access it.

This is one of the benefits of meditation. By settling our mind and body to the rhythm of our own breath, we can find peace, relaxation, and escape from the cycle of addiction. The best explanation of meditation is to experience it for yourself. Take a minute or two try it.

Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. With each breath allow the thoughts, tensions, and worries of the day briefly melt away. After the three deep inhales, let your breath return to its natural cadence. Allow your mind to rest on each inhale and exhale.

Follow it for ten breaths, or maybe twenty. If your mind wanders, don’t worry, it always will. Just gently return your awareness to the breath.

After a minute or two, stop. Notice how you feel. It’s not exactly happiness. I call it contentment, openness, and freedom. The practice of meditation is the opportunity, every day, to return to this peace. A peace that is always available from within. As long as we have our breath, we can have contentment. No reason, no object, and no fix required.

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio

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