If all your dreams came true, what then? How much different do you think your sense of life would be? How long would you feel overjoyed? How long does the joy of a new car last? That is how long you would be overjoyed. Happiness from outside has a life span. Inner happiness has no cut-off. That’s how it is, beloveds.
Toys are only toys. A surfeit of toys doesn’t give you more happiness. Just a quick jolt of happiness perhaps, no more. Sooner or later, all toys wear out, or their shiningness fades, or your joy in them diminishes even while they are still shiny.
And yet time and time again, you focus on the material treasures.
Don’t misunderstand Me. I encourage you to enjoy the treasures of the world. Why not? The only thing is not to count on them to make you happy. Have them. Enjoy them. Share them. Polish them. Wear them. Ride them. Spend them. No matter how much you love your treasures, they are not enough.
Desiring a shiny red car is actually more fun than having it. The joy really isn’t in the possessing.
Forty pairs of expensive shoes? One new pair for someone likely brings greater happiness.
A beautiful home? After a while it doesn’t make much difference to the quality of your life. There is still you, and there still are the people you live with, and your relationships.
A million dollars in the bank? Very nice, but it is, after all, only money in the bank. It is not love. And it cannot even buy you love. There is no price you can pay for love. Love from your heart is the same whether you have a million dollars or a fiver.
Even when you have all the treasures of the world, your mind is still on them as it was before. Treasures of the world are a concern one way or another.
Yet love, which takes up no space, fills your heart and fills the world. Even a little spark of love lights your life to an extent that all the crystal chandeliers in the world cannot do.
What are the simple pleasures in life for you? Have them now. Enjoy them now. Don’t wait until you are wealthy or whatever. What do you love? The smell of new-mown grass? The crunch of boots on snow? Ice-skating? Making a snowball? Walking on the beach? Feeling the sand between your toes? Surfing the waves? Being with children? Solitude? Whatever gives you pleasure, avail yourself of it now.
Imagine all the things that give you pleasure, and allot them to yourself now. There is nothing to wait for. Do not postpone your joy for another time. The time is now. Joy is ripe right now. The season of joy is right now. If you must get caught up in something, get caught up in joy.
Walk to work this morning. Don’t go to work this morning. Go to work early. Stay late. Get a different job.
Vary your routine. Make room for that which gives you true pleasure. You can do it. You’re the only who can do it. No one can give you the pleasure you deserve. Only you.
Be done with the idea that happiness of any length comes from outside you. Restore yourself to happiness now. Even when you have holes in your shoes, you can be happy. Even without shoes, you can be happy. You are the one who sets limits on how and when you will be happy.