Chasing Happiness

"Shall we chase happiness? Is wanting happiness really a good goal?" are the rhetorical questions most frequently asked by those weary of happiness.

And of course the answer of those in favor of fostering happiness is predictable too, "No. Happiness is as elusive as a rainbow. There is no point in chasing it. However, what we can do is remove obstacles to happiness and give ourselves permission to enjoy it when it comes along."

I shall add to this interchange only one thought:

We should not chase happiness as we should not chase beauty, love, and excellence either. Clinging to any form that our mind fancies is in itself an obstacle to happiness. But that does not mean we ought not to look in the mirror in the morning; to date and build relationship skills; to work hard to acquire a sense of mastery. It just means we ought not to be obsessed or identify with what we deem a worthy goal.

If we dream up how we want to participate in life, acquire and apply the right skills in order to fulfill that dream, and then turn it over, surrender, and be content with what is, if we breathe in and breathe out, dream up and let go, we do a lot more than just remove obstacles: we begin to love life and enjoy all it can be as it comes.


"He who binds to himself a joy
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise."
---WILLIAM BLAKE