| JUNE I |
My soul is here for its own joy! ~Unknown~ |
| JOY |
JOY COMMENTARY: The Dalai Lama said, “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” And I believe that is
true. However, for the most part our lives seem to have a mundane quality. We often live in an endless
succession of “9 to 5’s,” or as the Buddhist say, “carrying water and chopping wood.” We often feel something
is missing in our lives, it feels like there is a hole inside us that we just have to fill. All too often we try to fill
that hole with external things: Achievement, Shopping, or Addictions, etc. However, the truth is that “true
happiness” is not an external thing, but rather an internal state.
Life is filled with an up and down quality. There is no doubt that we experience a whole range of emotions in
our lives, anger, grief, betrayal, as well as elation, compassion, and love. Happiness does not come from
denying our feelings, but rather experiencing them fully and returning to our inner state of well being.
One of my favorite stories about Happiness comes from an excerpt in Pema Chodron’s Book, “The Wisdom of
No Escape.”
Since I will be addressing the “Practice of Gratitude,” in November’s Practice more deeply, for the purpose of
this practice I will just make a bold statement and say that Happiness cannot exist without seeing through the
eyes of Gratitude. I use the “seeing” as an aspect of Gratitude because it feeling it really has to do with our
focus. We can be thankful for anything from the hummingbird who suddenly appears, swilling sweet nectar
from the trumpet vine, coffee with a friend, or the laughter of a child on an evening breeze. Gratitude awakens
us to life and all its wonderful qualities. We can choose to focus on the “tigers” of worry, frustration, or any
negative emotion, or we can focus on the “strawberries.”Therefore, grateful eyes can open us to Beauty and in
some way defend us against the “tigers,” that will surely come. Keeping a “Gratitude Journal,” during the
worst of times is always a calming way to soothe the gnarling realities, which seem to be just outside our door.
The journal will not make them go away, but it will help sustain you in the most trying of times, because one
thing you can always count on is that things will change. By going on a “strawberry” hunt, it is much more
possible for us to lift ourselves from “the edge of the cliff.”
Since the next section of the Practice has to do with Self Esteem, I will only touch on this teaching. What I
want you to know about Self Esteem during your Practice of Happiness is that our greatest block to Happiness
is self-denigration. It is the biggest destroyer of all personal happiness
In closing, I urge you, to find ways to cultivate your own “strawberry patch” with the fodder of living each day
as your last, grateful eyes, and a large dose of self worth. Focusing on the “strawberries” in your life, may even
transform you into the Lady from Liger, who was able to ride upon the tiger’s back.
true. However, for the most part our lives seem to have a mundane quality. We often live in an endless
succession of “9 to 5’s,” or as the Buddhist say, “carrying water and chopping wood.” We often feel something
is missing in our lives, it feels like there is a hole inside us that we just have to fill. All too often we try to fill
that hole with external things: Achievement, Shopping, or Addictions, etc. However, the truth is that “true
happiness” is not an external thing, but rather an internal state.
Life is filled with an up and down quality. There is no doubt that we experience a whole range of emotions in
our lives, anger, grief, betrayal, as well as elation, compassion, and love. Happiness does not come from
denying our feelings, but rather experiencing them fully and returning to our inner state of well being.
One of my favorite stories about Happiness comes from an excerpt in Pema Chodron’s Book, “The Wisdom of
No Escape.”
Since I will be addressing the “Practice of Gratitude,” in November’s Practice more deeply, for the purpose of
this practice I will just make a bold statement and say that Happiness cannot exist without seeing through the
eyes of Gratitude. I use the “seeing” as an aspect of Gratitude because it feeling it really has to do with our
focus. We can be thankful for anything from the hummingbird who suddenly appears, swilling sweet nectar
from the trumpet vine, coffee with a friend, or the laughter of a child on an evening breeze. Gratitude awakens
us to life and all its wonderful qualities. We can choose to focus on the “tigers” of worry, frustration, or any
negative emotion, or we can focus on the “strawberries.”Therefore, grateful eyes can open us to Beauty and in
some way defend us against the “tigers,” that will surely come. Keeping a “Gratitude Journal,” during the
worst of times is always a calming way to soothe the gnarling realities, which seem to be just outside our door.
The journal will not make them go away, but it will help sustain you in the most trying of times, because one
thing you can always count on is that things will change. By going on a “strawberry” hunt, it is much more
possible for us to lift ourselves from “the edge of the cliff.”
Since the next section of the Practice has to do with Self Esteem, I will only touch on this teaching. What I
want you to know about Self Esteem during your Practice of Happiness is that our greatest block to Happiness
is self-denigration. It is the biggest destroyer of all personal happiness
In closing, I urge you, to find ways to cultivate your own “strawberry patch” with the fodder of living each day
as your last, grateful eyes, and a large dose of self worth. Focusing on the “strawberries” in your life, may even
transform you into the Lady from Liger, who was able to ride upon the tiger’s back.
REPEAT ASPIRATION EVERY DAY FOR 7 DAYS WEEK 1 ASPIRATION: Today, I aspire to focus on gratitude for the good things in my life and feel the joy of them. SUPPORTS ~DAY 1~ Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama ~DAY 2~ Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing. ~Napoleon Hill ~DAY 3~ Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. ~Eleanor Roosevelt ~DAY 4~ Happiness depends upon ourselves. ~Aristotle ~DAY 5~ Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. ~Helen Keller ~DAY 6~ The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness. ~Dalai Lama ~DAY 7~ REST AND REVIEW Now, without judgment review your week. This week I was able to I was able to rise above the difficulties which surrounded me and focus on the joyful things more often. Now breathe in how is feels to focus on joy, with the wish may all those who are troubled rise above their lives and feel this feeling of joy. Now, look at your short-falls. This week I there were times I was unable to rise above the challenges I faced and find the joy in my life. Breathe in your painful emotion and breathe out the wish: May all those who feel unhappiness be spared from feeling the lack of gratitude in their lives. Feel free to use your own words in this practice. |
REPEAT ASPIRATION EVERY DAY FOR 7 DAYS WEEK 2 ASPIRATION: Today I aspire to share the infectiousness of happiness with others SUPPORTS ~DAY 1~ I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. ~Dalai Lama ~DAY 2~ Happiness never decreases by being shared. ~Buddha ~DAY 3~ Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~Mohandas Gandhi ~DAY 4~ A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. ~Mother Teresa ~DAY 5~ You need to live up life and do crazy things; otherwise, it's just a bunch of Thursdays strung together. ~Jennifer Aniston ~DAY 6~ QUOTE Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. ~Eleanor Roosevelt ~DAY 7~ REST AND REVIEW Now, without judgment review your week. This week I was able to make others laugh and point out the happiness this world has to offer. Now breathe in how this feels with the wish may all those who feel joyful touch others with this sense of happiness. Now, look at your short-falls. This week I there were times I was unable to share any joy with others. Breathe in your pain of unhappiness and breathe out the wish: May all those who feel overwhelmed and un-joyful be spared from feeling. Feel free to use your own words in this practice. |
A woman is running away from tigers. She runs and runs, and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she
comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking
down, she sees that there are tigers below as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to
which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump
of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she takes a strawberry, puts it in her
mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly.
Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and
death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life, it might be the only strawberry
that we'll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the
preciousness of every single moment of our life.
Even though we rarely think of our mortality, if we were truly aware of it, I think we would chose to live
differently. Just as Suzuki Roshi once said, “Knowing life is short, enjoy it, day after day, moment after
moment.” I suppose one could say that we have a choice to go out of this world kicking and screaming and
whining, or we can go out with the taste of strawberries in our mouths.
If I had to scale down Happiness into its most important components I would say there are three major things
needed: Awareness of the finite quality of life, Gratitude, and Self Worth. In the preceding story I have touched
on the finite quality of life.
comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking
down, she sees that there are tigers below as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to
which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump
of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she takes a strawberry, puts it in her
mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly.
Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and
death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life, it might be the only strawberry
that we'll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the
preciousness of every single moment of our life.
Even though we rarely think of our mortality, if we were truly aware of it, I think we would chose to live
differently. Just as Suzuki Roshi once said, “Knowing life is short, enjoy it, day after day, moment after
moment.” I suppose one could say that we have a choice to go out of this world kicking and screaming and
whining, or we can go out with the taste of strawberries in our mouths.
If I had to scale down Happiness into its most important components I would say there are three major things
needed: Awareness of the finite quality of life, Gratitude, and Self Worth. In the preceding story I have touched
on the finite quality of life.
| Prayer for Peace, Love, and Happiness Let me be loved, let me be happy, let me be peaceful. Let my friends be happy, loved, and peaceful. Let my perceived enemies be happy, loved, and peaceful. Let all beings be happy, loved, and peaceful. Let the whole world experience these things. ~Author Unknown~ |
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