If I were to ask you to list all your desires, and all your desires came through today, you would jump for joy. You would be so excited. You would feel rewarded and loved today. You would know for a fact that the Stars are smiling on you. How happy you would be.
It is a good guess that you can easily put together a long list. If you ran out of ideas, you could go to the internet or TV or ads in a magazine and catalogues. There is no shortage of what you would find to desire. The world offers you trails of breadcrumbs for you to follow and more and more.
Yes, if all your dreams come true today, you would be happy. You would be ecstatically happy until – until -- the Joy fades. How can it be that joy fades? How is it that wonderful gifts lose their luster?
The deal is that you can always have more to add to your list of world desires. World desires just aren’t enough for you. When you get a new car, after awhile, it isn’t new any longer. After awhile, there are newer cars that hit the spot. New goes only so far in the material world. Gilding the Lily wears off.
The world at large certainly does give you happiness -- for a while. The world is simply not able to bestow long-lasting happiness. You could have gold and sit in a palace, and it would not be enough. Lasting happiness isn’t able to establish itself within you from outside.
Lasting happiness arises from within. However intriguing the world is – and it is intriguing, no doubt -- lasting happiness bubbles up from within you.
Within is not the same as without. Interior is interior. External is external. Internal is internal. Foundation is foundation. Surface is surface. Temporary is temporary.
In Life, you alternate between Life on the Surface and Life in the Depths of your Soul. Have both. Of course, you would like to.
Temporal desires may well come from themselves and also from your effort. Sure, you could win the lottery, yet, for the most part, you give forth your energy to fulfill your worldly desires.
Desires often find their way to you. You don’t have to work hard at desiring. Desires can well rush in on their own. You don’t have to hold your desires tightly in your fist. Desires can find their own way. Desiring has a Life of its own.
When you feel desperate, let go of desperation. Look, it is natural for your desires to reach you when you don’t hold on tight to them. Invite rather than command. Greet rather than demand.
There is nothing you have to possess. You just plain don’t. What you have to have is to give freely. When you open all the windows of your heart, what cannot come in for you?
When you look at a sunrise or a sunset, unlike when you gaze upon your once new car, you can feel happiness every time. When you see a field of lavender or pick a flower, Joy is yours. Even though you can gaze upon Nature, Nature is not outside you but within. Fresh air will always give you joy. Nature is not a personal dividend. It is inevitably shared. No one has to ask anyone for permission. Therefore, Joy from Nature is renewable, and you are blessed with Joy every time.
You don’t own a sunrise. It is yours, and it is everyone’s. No one needs to unlock a sunrise. The Sun was never locked. The Sun was always for all. No one has to apply for permission. No one has to pay admission or wait in line. Beloveds, Nature is within you. You are Nature.