Happiness cannot be pursued
It can’t be chased
What do you mean by happiness? Someone would say that happiness is getting what you want. You want a car and you are happy when you get it.
I want to go to Europe and I am happy if I can go. I want to be something and if I become that I am happy. I’m sad if I can’t be that.
Thus, what you call happiness is a matter of attaining as desired. If you want something and get it you are really happy, then you don’t get depressed, but if you don’t get what you want then sorrow begins.
Not only poor or rich, rich or destitute, all want to get something for themselves, for their families, and for society, and if they have to stop or are stopped, they become unhappy.
We are not saying that the poor cannot get what they want. We are not talking about that problem here.
We are trying to find out what happiness is and whether happiness is something that you are conscious of. The moment you become conscious that you are happy, that you have a lot, is that happiness?
The moment you become conscious that you are happy, that is not happiness, is it happiness? Happiness cannot be chased.
You cannot chase after happiness. The moment you become conscious of the fact that you are humble, you are no longer humble. Thus, happiness is not a matter of pursuit, it comes, but if you seek it, it escapes your grasp.
What do we look for?
What is it that we all want? Especially in this turbulent world, where everyone is trying to find some kind of peace, some kind of happiness, some refuge, what are we looking for?
Surely that’s important to find out, isn’t it? What is it that we strive to discover?
Perhaps most of us are looking for some kind of happiness, some kind of peace. In a world surrounded by so much turmoil, so much war, strife, and conflict, we need a haven where we can find some peace.
I think that’s what most people want. So we search for it. That is why we go from one leader to another leader, from one religious organization to another religious organization, and from one guru to another guru.
Now is it that we are looking for happiness or is it that we are looking for some kind of satisfaction that will give us happiness?
There is a difference between happiness and contentment. Can you find happiness? You may find satisfaction, but, certainly, you will not find happiness.
Happiness comes from something else, it is a by-product of something else. So it is a matter that requires a great deal of enthusiasm, attention, thought, and care, and before we attend to it should we not find out what it is that we seek?
Is it happiness or contentment?
