“There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.”
I’ve been thinking about that Buddha-credited quote today. So many of us spend our lives working for happiness, looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We trudge through our daily lives because we hope to one day be rewarded with happiness.
Growing up, I remember kids estimating their age to the next year. The day after their ninth birthday, they’re already claiming to be almost-10. I’ve known people who frown through their lives hoping their retirement will bring the happiness they desire. But what if that happiness never materializes? What if you get sick five years before your retirement and become too disabled to take that world cruise you’ve always dreamed of. It happens. I’ve seen it.
I used to work with a woman who regularly worked on her bucket list. Teresa visited the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, and Germany (where she bought a BMW that she had shipped to Miami), to name a few, during the time I knew her as my co-teacher at the high school. She lives her life richly. Of course, she had the resources, but I’ve also known people with the resources who sit and wait for the proverbial “right time.”
What if the “right time” never comes?
The truth is, the right time is now. Happiness is not the path; it has been there all along, waiting for you to discover the secret.
If we are to live a full life, shouldn’t we strive to live it now, not tomorrow?
What if a doctor were to say you had six months to live. What would you do?
- Would you visit Spain to see the running of the bulls?
- Would you visit the Grand Canyon to see nature’s glory first-hand?
- Would you take your kids camping for a week of family time memories?
That’s your thought for the day. Instead of working toward an imagined perfect retirement, what would make your current path your true path of happiness?
Much love, my friends,
The Dragonfly’s Student
The Dragonfly's Student 