In a world burdened by pressure, busy lives which never seem to allow us time to stop and a constant rush from one deadline to another we never seem to feel happy, for many years I based my evaluation of my life against the formidable concept of happiness. We herald it as the optimum for life, the sign that things are better than they should be and the exclusive consequence of unlimited success and wealth. However, happiness can end up becoming a self-defeating concept, it is based on comparing what we have to what we think we should have and of course it is the failure of our current evaluation of life as we know it to match up to our concept of happiness which can make us feel dissatisfied and very unhappy. It is the failure of our past, discontented evaluation of our present and fear of an uncertain future which so easily determines our lack of happiness, yet neither of these directly influence our levels of happiness.
We all know the conventional wisdom – have no expectations and you cannot be disappointed. Have no expectations of happiness and suddenly you could find yourself overjoyed.
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If you were to forget about the concept of happiness and instead focus on the contentment of your present, you may find that there is little to be unhappy about. We all have our challenges, our tribulations and our hardships, look to the person next to you and they are probably suffering similar hardship but if your basic needs are met,if you have people in this world who love you unconditionally, who love to spend time with you and you with them your needs are in fact met. All you require in this one moment in time is here, or at least within reach. Contentment perhaps would be a better path to follow – this requires a degree of mindful awareness and acceptance of the present moment. I warn you though, this does not mean acceptance of the present hour, not in five minutes time, this means acceptance of one single moment in time and when the next is to come you must remain within the same mindset.
Appreciating each moment in time for what it is and what it gives you can offer you the path to enlightenment. Acceptance and gratitude make the concept of happiness irrelevant – there is nothing to fear and you do not look ahead to fear anything. This requires a very deep change in mindset which does not come overnight, however with a little focus and dedication peace and tranquility with the concept of contentment can eradicate the ironic unhappiness which the concept of happiness brings to your life.
