Happy One!

In the midst of all the overwhelming sadness and confusion in the world, I have been consciously focused on the idea of happiness:
What is it? I know it when I feel it!
How does one achieve it? It seems to arrive when I'm least focused on IT!
What exactly does it feel like? Levity, bliss, surging energy flowing through me.
How do I sustain it? This is where I get stuck again and again.

For perspective, I turn to history, ancient and modern. Not surprisingly, I find messages about achieving happiness are nearly identical across millennia (emphasis all mine):

Buddhist: Equanimity, or peace of mind is achieved by detaching oneself from the cycle of craving that produces suffering. By achieving a mental state where you can detach from all the passions, needs and wants of life, you free yourself and achieve a state of transcendent bliss and well-being.

Christian: Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Taoist: Happiness is a process -- a lifelong journey that doesn't rely on external factors and the key for sustaining it lies within us.

Yogic: Contentment is a form of self-discipline that demands we eschew ego and focus on gratitude. Gratitude for everything cannot co-exist with disdain for anything.

Irreverent Contemporary: Don't give a f*ck! Seriously, Mark Manson wrote an entire book on how to put life into perspective and achieve peace by being especially selective in what & how many f*cks you give!

Whew! I know there are literally hundreds of other references I could list that would reinforce basically the same message... but for today, I'll describe just one more.

In Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul, the author blends a variety of traditions as he espouses a spiritual concept called "unconditional happiness" and suggests the choice to be so or not is entirely up to each of us. Singer urges readers to answer ONE question, "Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy" However, he notes, "most people don't dare give themselves that choice" because they don't think they can control the myriad variables (people, places, things, events, etc.) that make them unhappy. Singer suggests even this thinking misses the point. The actual point is NONE of it is within our control anyway, so why not choose to acknowledge THIS reality and move forward with a lightness of being that accompanies PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS? I'll consider that question in the next post :)