Enjoying Life

Enjoying Life

We spend a lot of our time engaged in various activities, at work and in play. Some of these are out

of necessity and not because we enjoy doing them. Others we enjoy doing because they are satisfying.

Listening to music, going for a walking, admiring nature. We admire the sunrise in the eastern sky and a crimson sunset as the sun dips below the horizon. Changing seasons from heavy rains to spring with a burst of flowers.

With the smell of damp earth and foliage our senses get elated.  We spend time reading, writing,

using the internet. In our younger days, we would have played games like tennis, badminton, football and rugger. As we grow older, we tend to drift into armchair viewing of games on the television. Games shows are now big industry. Life seems to be an unending chore for the housewife, washing clothes, cooking and cleaning.

Seeking pleasure is man`s favorite past time. There are so many ways of seeking worldly pleasures. If everyone makes a list of the pleasures they seek, it would make interesting reading. As one grows older these pleasures change. Pleasures range from the sublime right through to the debased. How one is oriented to the pleasure principle shapes one`s life. But all is not as rosy as it seems. We have chores to do in daily life. These chores keep increasing and can become overwhelming. There is no joy any longer, just one chore after another.

Let us take a closer look at the pleasure principle. What we have described above as pleasures are mundane pleasures. Yes, there are levels of pleasures, from the erotic to the sublime. There is no need to go into the details of these. We can work it out from our own experiences. The key to happiness is twofold. First we need to make it a habit to enjoy the higher kinds of pleasures. What are these higher kinds? Pleasure that do not evoke wild emotions, making one tense and restless. We need to choose pleasures that are soothing and calming. Each one of us has to search for such experiences. It is not all that difficult. The converse of this is pain. Pleasure  contains the seed for pain and vice versa. We tend to look for pleasures from external things. These are short lived. If one wants to be happy it has to come from an internal source.

The second step is to sublimate what we call chores. It is our attitude towards tasks that creates this problem. A chore when done with full attention no longer becomes tedious. It is a satisfying thing to do. Even when doing something ordinary like washing up can become an uplifting experience when full attention is given. As we get used to this way our chores get reduced. A task well done becomes reward in itself as the poem below illustrates:

                                          A task becomes a pleasure

                                          With full attention in good measure

                                          More rewarding in doing than in accolades

                                          In perpetual happiness one can wade.       

We see the world mainly through our senses, the eyes see, ears hear, fingers feel, tongue tastes. For many of us. It stays at the level of the mind, one step above the senses. The mind revels in this kaleidoscope of impressions. We get stuck in this world view and believe in what we see. Very few of us have gone further in exploring higher possibilities. To lift oneself up one has to realize that for our senses to function an inner power is needed. This power is the enabler. Without it our senses will not work. There are a few helpful things we can do.

Always pay full attention when doing something. Calm the mind. Use the mind, do not let it use us. Be in full control. Have discipline using one’s intellect. The intellect has the power to discriminate senses received and evaluate them. Overriding all these is our intuition, what we call a gut feeling. Intuition is a more reliable ally. There is a gradual progression from sense reactions to intuition. These habits have to be cultivated. We start from where we are and move up the scale. Things do not end here interestingly.

Intuition flowers into wisdom. A calm mind makes way for wisdom. It is clear by now that we are

not our body or our senses. Through these steps we begin to experience our real self. We need not

be too bogged down by these intricacies of the mind and intellect. How they work is a mystery. We rely on what others tell us. When the mind is in overdrive thinking of this and that, one cannot be calm. The mind wanders to the past and to the future, planning and scheming. If the mind concentrates on just this moment, we have a better chance to gain calmness. At this very moment there are no problems. The mind has nothing to worry about. Sit quietly in your favorite place and breathe evenly. With practice we will find the mind calms down.  Something new takes place. There is contentment, peace a feeling of indescribable bliss different from the happiness we had been used to. Bliss cannot be described in words. We have to experience it ourselves. This condition is the key to enjoying life. A drastic change in mindset is called for. Virtues have to be embraced and practiced daily. We need to wear a garland of virtues all the time. This will remind us to put them into practice at every opportunity. Here is a list of some virtues. You could add to it of course.  Caring, Loving (people, nature), Giving, Helping, Good thoughts, Good deeds, Kindness, Non Violence, Patience, Gratitude, Humility, Accepting the Will of a Higher Power. 

                                                          Respect with a flower garland

                                                          A garland of virtues, excellence it sends

                                                          Worn always, it shows the way

                                                          You would have nothing more to say.        

Again, live simply. A few simple steps if practiced by us could achieve this.

1    Enjoy the simple things of life in food, passions and pleasures.

2    Dwell in your current reality. Do not try to create a new reality. The current reality is real and you have to deal with it with whatever you already have.

3   Do not get lured into fantasy and live in a dream world. There are enough surprises and rewards waiting for you in nature.

Happiness is our birth right. We are created to live happily and in bliss. If we are not, it is in our own making.

Where did we go wrong and how can we put it right. We have the tools to put it right. Let us use them.  Our happiness lies in our own hands.

If you feel this message has been helpful, please pass it on.

Wishing you happiness always.

M P Prabhakar

17.4.20