Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

And yet there is one fantastic problem with them all: they are weak and fleeting. Indeed,
they fade quite quickly, and in their absence leave behind an increased sense of
foreboding and woe; a personal sadness that is ironically deepened and intensified – a
personal sadness that has us all too readily running once more back into the wafer-thin
embrace of those same fruitless addictions.
We have all experienced this Truth throughout the course of our lives – most of us time
and time again. And yet the question for many remains unanswered: why is this the case?
Well, there is at least one answer that is as simple as it is liberating: namely, as long as
you are searching for Happiness for yourself, you will never be able to find it.
You see, the source of our suffering is not mere sadness, but rather the fundamental cause
of all sadness: self-centeredness. And as long as we are going to combat our sadness
with means essentially designed to make ourselves “happier”, then we will actually end
up strengthening the very selfishness that inspired our melancholy in the first place … A
fleeting happiness might arrive for a time using such methods, and yet sadness will
always follow on its heels — and it will return with a vengeance.
So engage all the “self-help” remedies you wish:
eat right, sleep well and exercise regularly …
practice yoga, eat chocolate and meditate …
sit in a sunbeam, walk in the woods and force yourself to smile …
party with your friends, recite positive affirmations and visualize a positive future …
listen to some good music, read a good book and watch uplifting movies …
get involved in a new hobby, confide in a friend and pray to God for “spiritual healing”.
Do all these things and more … I’m certainly not knocking any of them. And yet, while
these & similar activities can indeed bring you a brief respite of calm, please remember
that you are not summoning any real, deep-seated Joy into your days while doing so; that
you are not bringing any profound or lasting positivity into your life.
In actuality, all you are doing is habitually placing razor-thin bandages over your stillfestering
wounds; bandages that happen to fall & fade away with the slightest breeze of
doubt or fear –- bandages that actually keep your wounds from ever healing at all.
Of course, even though this news does seem a bit foreboding, all is not lost! There is
another way to deal with our sadness – a way that brings us Peace instead of mere ease; a
way that brings us Bliss instead of mere “happiness” …
254