What, then, is happiness?
Hello!In this article I'm going to tell you about what I've been learning about happiness.
Years of constant yoga practice. Various Vipassana meditation courses. Training in psychology and a lot of self-observation have led me to believe that it is possible to be happy. Even when it seems impossible.
First of all I want us to come to an agreement about what happiness is and the difference between feeling happy and feeling pleasure.
Most of the time we experience a fleeting sensation of pleasure. When a party or a long-awaited trip arrives, for example. On your or your child's graduation day. An event, an achievement. Of course this is happiness. But in this case the feeling of emotion and pleasure lasts for a few hours. We don't stay – and shouldn't – all the time in this party excitement.
Life is quieter everyday, isn't it?
That excited happiness of reaching a goal, an achievement. What happens in Coca-Cola commercials. It's not even possible to live like this all the time. You shouldn't even force yourself to do that.
At the same time, it's really cool to go through these moments and enjoy them when they happen. But when the party is over, the trip…. It's over… And that's okay!
People end up suffering when the party ends, right?
I was always one of the last people to leave parties when I was good. And I was sad coming back from a trip. I think it's normal to have a low mood. I realized that this happens because of the attachment to pleasure.
Suffering is caused when we want to expand the time of pleasure.
Most of the time we are solving problems, thinking about life, working. Routine is kind of boring.
Then we can discover that happiness is permeating everything. Even when there is a problem, a difficulty, a moment of discouragement. It's knowing that this will pass. Just as the party ends one hour, so does the pain.
With meditation and yoga I learned a lot to look at myself from the inside. A look that can see these mood swings all the time. And with training don't identify with them.
Live each. If I'm sad, I'll cry. If I am angry, I will find a way to express myself and resolve the problem.
We ended up getting addicted to getting involved with emotions and being carried away by them. So we live on a roller coaster and we think that moments of happiness are few.
But you can choose to live in contentment, which is actually being happy all the time. Unlike euphoria. But knowing that everything that happens passes. It's cyclic. It has its perfect length of time.
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- Happiness. What is happiness to you?
- What is it called? Empathy?
- Learning and healing together
Over time, we observe and gain autonomy. It's like an eagle looking down on everything. That is, you can be in a serious work meeting. It could be scolding your child. Could be arguing with her husband. But you know it will pass.
You don't have to be smiling and celebrating all the time. Celebrating life happens every second and inside you. Thanking you for every moment. And enjoying the moments of joy and the moments necessary for our evolution!
