Happiness.
Imagine a happy place you have been. Maybe it is the last vacation you went. With an empty mind, you are at this marvelous tropical mountain resort with an infinite pool over the jungle edge. Overlooking beautiful valley with misty waterfalls. You are just there, woke up early morning to the sounds of birds, and ordered your breakfast. And you forgot, all the stress and pressure of being at work, and sighed knowing this is just a beginning of such two weeks. Plenty of places to see, plenty of tastes to flavor, and plenty of space and time. You do really feel the freedom, for the first time in a Year! since your last vacation. And you ask, is this happiness or what?
And I totally agree, that is happiness at its best. But there is a catch. If we both agree that is happiness, relative to that, all other 50 weeks that you spent at work, should be sadness, right? Maybe not sadness, but less happiness. So, what is the alternative?
This summarizes one such attempt at resolving problem. I have seen different versions of the same solution over the years. Some say it is getting to the 'Flow' state of mind. The fine balance between your ability and the difficulty of the task, which can make a feeling of progressive improvement. As suggested by the popular book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Often it is hard to find such flow states. And life seems to be inevitable with ups and downs.
Compare this to the Journey of a boat.
Imagine a range of boats. From a simple canoe to, a fishing boat, a troller boat, a luxury boat and a big, cruise ship. Imagine they all travel from Port A to port B some X miles apart. Living in a flow state is like taking the journey in a cruise ship. It is easy, not much turbulence and, there is balance in everything. However, when we consider the population, the momentum in our minds is different. None of two people are having same states of mind. Hence, just like the same wave hit differently to each boat, waves of life will hit with different forces on us. For some, whose minds are unstable like a canoe, even small waves seem to bring and exhaust them. So, achieving a flow state is difficult for some, then others, for whom it is naturally present.
I consider myself, a canoe rider. Ups and downs I feel daily are marked. Often out of proportion to the experience itself. I was jealous of those who travel in cruises. Who seems to be happy with everything that they do. How can I be happy when daily troubles exhaust me? How can I enjoy a sunset, drinking a cup of coffee on the deck when I struggle to keep my canoe from falling over with each wave?
Peace as a solution?
Peace seems to be a promising solution. That is a stoic way of thinking. If you target peace instead of happiness, you will come across happiness ultimately. This I have explained in detail as a solution to the happiness paradox as well. As the struggle to happiness is not always giving us a pleasant experience, maybe we should not seek this. Someone can argue just like the opposite of happiness is sadness, opposite of peace is chaos. So, if you are not at peace, there must be chaos. If peace is such a state of mind where there is calm and clarity, of course, a canoe ride would be the last place on earth where you can achieve some peace.
Why peace is ultimate happiness?
This is where mindfulness and wisdom come into play. When you observe your life in mindfulness, you would understand the waves are inevitable, and you would observe your journey. You will observe the violence of the sea, and the reactions of your boat. And ultimately will come to peace with life. I think this happens with a lot of men and women, when they get older. When they become wiser, they calm down, the violence of youth, calms down, and they learn to respect the nature, the sea. But the mindfulness is the faster way to achieve such peace. This peace is standalone. Because even when the sea, is calm and quiet, or violent with storms, the peace is a pact with yourself and the environment. Hence, the mind will remain peaceful even in chaos.
If you would like to achieve some of this peace, I suggest you start with mindfulness today.
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