Saturday morning. 6:16AM, December 17, 2022.
A normal day. Nothing special. Dark outside, window blowing. Certainly cold out there.
Freshly awake after a particularly long sleep. Half cup of coffee.
Here, reflecting. Observing mind movements like clouds in the sky. Tiny movie clips from the preceding days of existence – each a tiny lesson – each affirmation of previous epiphanies and insights.
I need nothing more than this. Of course, it helps to first consider, and subsequently acknowledge, there IS nothing more than this. And from there forward, stillness has a way of forever feeling like the greatest pearl of life.
This is the happiest I can ever be. Simply to be, simply to reflect. Getting here is always a matter of noticing. Not a matter of “doing” anything, but rather the opposite.
A great relief… we don’t need to do anything to arrive here.
“Our minds are a vast space, containing everything. We focus on where there is movement. Some pattern. Eventually we grow tired of the pattern and feel, ‘enough’. We can return to a frame that is instead very wide – the infinite container and not the particulars, the patterns, the movements. The world is *always* big, even when it feels small.”
– James Low
Lyrics from Ben Folds – three words edited to fit.
I don’t get many things right the first time
– Ben Folds
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns
The stumbles, and falls brought me here
And where was I before the day
That I first saw this lovely place?
Now I see it everyday
And I know that I am
I am, I am the luckiest
6 responses to “The Happiest”
Nice!
I really like,
“Simply to be, simply to reflect”.
Simple really, but so often elusive. Thank you.
– Hope you get that window secured though.
Happy this connected with you Justine. “simple and often elusive”… yup. It seems to get slightly less elusive, over time. Writing is one of my ways to keep it close! (also don’t worry, window is secure, I was just imagining the cold from inside a warm room).
Well when I manage to offload the mountain of responsibility I have ….the constant struggle, the crap place I can’t escape from..and the injustice of cruel people..
I too may the luxury of stillness and peace.
Everyone wants to be heard… everyone preaches to everyone else…my idea of bliss is to escape people who think they have the answer.
They don’t.
But we have hope.
Hi Rose. I am very sorry to hear life is imposing such a struggle for you.
Sharing a quote I ran into last night:
“You don’t need to work hard to attain stillness – or follow the right action and think that it will take 10 years. No, it’s already there. If you are not totally miserable and unhappy every moment of your life — anybody who is not extremely miserable all the time, has a little bit of access without even knowing it, to that stillness within.”
In other words, “stillness” is how it feels if we are able to notice our thoughts are merely thoughts.
I am aware this probably sounds foolish or feeble. In my experience there is more substance here than it seems.
Not trying to preach our insist this is “the answer”. Merely suggesting that this perspective can be meaningful, even with a few moments per day.
I too am reluctant to anyone selling “the answer”. I see this as merely an experiment to try and see what happens. At least that’s where it started for me, and then the road kept going and going.
– Jay
To your last line, a common reply by ‘Sailor’ Bob Adamson: “Welcome to the home you never left.”
Wonderful post! Love the James Low quote, I only recently learned of his work. It’s delightful.
All the best!
-Lance
Lance, great to run into you here. I hope to be commenting on your essays soon, just let me know when you have some things posted! Further, I will be back on our two open threads soon. (what a great problem to have – several ideas to chat about).
Thank you for the great complementary quote from Bob Adamson – a new name to google. Glad you connected with this one.
– Jay