Not Searching, But Running Away
I’ve come to a profound realization: more often than not, my pursuit isn’t centered around happiness itself; rather, it’s an attempt to evade the clutches of sadness. In those moments, I convince myself that happiness stands in stark contrast to sorrow.
And guess what? We’re all guilty of this. We all engage in this behavior.
But the truth is, happiness and sadness exist on a continuum of shades of gray. They’re simply distinct moods, mere variations brought to life by our thoughts. Yes, it is our thoughts that spawn these moods within our own minds.
In varying degrees, we all suffer from reactivity, trapped in a never-ending loop. It’s almost comical how we first conceive a thought and then embark on the process of reacting to the very feelings that stem from it.
But we don’t stop there. As humans, we’re drawn to complicate matters further.
We initiate yet another loop—a thought that delves into why the original thought emerged. This, in turn, leads to the categorization of our own emotions—good, bad, like, dislike, and so on.
And we all know what happens next—we avoid the bad thoughts and nurture the good ones.
It’s self-help 101, right?
Exactly! That’s why the vast universe of self-help, positive thinking, and motivational content exists. Countless articles, books, and social media experts bombard us with advice on attracting only positive thoughts and shunning the negative ones. The top ten ways to achieve it, what to do first thing in the morning, what to do before bed, and everything in between!
But do these things actually work?
Maybe. However, I can say with certainty that they don’t work for me.
Why?
Because the mind is like a frenzied monkey on adrenaline. It leaps, howls, and changes settings with every single breath.
The way I see it, when it comes to such matters, the older the affliction, the older the remedy should be. Quick fixes and superficial solutions will always yield shallow results.
By relying on these cosmetic patches, we’re merely swapping one facet of the mind for another. It’s akin to running on a treadmill; even after covering 5 or 10 kilometers, you’re essentially back where you started, just drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
This brings me to a crucial point—true happiness, let’s call it bliss or ecstasy, must transcend the confines of the mind. It cannot be a fleeting emotion that rises and falls like the ebb and flow of the tides, driven by our own cyclical thoughts.
So, how does one attain ecstasy? Frankly, I don’t know; I’m still searching.
I am, just like you, a seeker.