Chris Morris

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Happiness is not a journey

Posted by Chris Morris on 5th November 2009

Robert Holden circulated this today, and I’m sharing it with you too because I think it tells a simple truth very well.

After living 16 years, 5,844 days, on the spiritual path.
After sitting for over 5,000 hours in meditation.
After reading 1,000 brilliant books on success, happiness and love.
After listening to 500 healing CDs.
After attending 250 self-development workshops.
After benefiting from 200 therapy sessions.
After praying on my knees more than 100 times.
After going on twenty-five retreats.
After enduring 10 fasts.
After suffering 5 colonic irrigations.
After trying to forgive mum and dad more than once …
I finally got the key to happiness:
Just RELAX!

See also: The Ways of Happiness

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6 responses:

Steve McN 5th November 2009 (2:10 pm): I completely agree. True happiness cannot be a journey because of its very nature.
TwistedByKnaves 5th November 2009 (2:19 pm): Great post, but the title didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

Certainly, happiness is not a destination. Perhaps it is a good companion to take along for the ride?
Steve McN 5th November 2009 (2:28 pm): The ride?
Alan L 5th November 2009 (2:58 pm): ‘Aspirational’ consumerist society seeks to foster individualist discontent. The unsettling feeling that one isn’t, hasn’t and isn’t doing enough.

I’m not against individualism (in some contexts it’s entirely appropriate) and I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with aspiration – I wouldn’t want to ever dismiss the thought that ‘I can strive to be a better person than I am today – but aspiration is probably better when it is decided on the individual’s own terms.

How much happier would everyone be in who they are, what they have and what they are doing if they weren’t constantly bombarded by ‘push’ commercial messages?

In the context of mass media, Holden’s message to ‘relax’ might mean ‘spend more time in an environment where you are less bombarded by commercial messages.’

What might ‘relax’ mean in other contexts, I wonder…?
Carol Robertson 5th November 2009 (7:29 pm): XALER breathe

and yes

RELAX is in the now
James Lawson 4th May 2010 (9:32 pm): don’t relax too much though. Not very useful if you want to get up and go and do something ;o)

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