In grade 2, my best friend was Barb, a girl of Scottish descent who loved books, reading, creativity, and play.
We were devoted to each other, and spent most of our free time together.
Picture two pig-tailed girls, devouring books, dreaming dreams, and writing stories together.
I loved her with all of my 7-year-old heart, and was shattered when her family moved away.
We promised to keep in touch, and for a couple of years we did but it was hard. Her new neighbourhood seemed so far away, much too far to navigate by bike or by bus on our own.
But for those years we lived one street apart?
Our friendship consisted of total devotion to each other, and joy at our shared interests.
It was bliss.
Which got me thinking about happiness.
Deepak Chopra (and many wisdom traditions) say that happiness is our true nature.
I knew that as a child; I think we all do.
As an adult however, my skeptical brain sometimes gets in the way of this truth, and I question the joy that was once so natural and normal.
“Happiness is part of who we are. Joy is the feeling.” ― Tony DeLiso
As I begin another round of meditation with the Chopra Center, I’m thinking of joy and happiness and how elusive they can sometimes be.
And I wonder…
What would it take to return to that state of joy?
For me it would take embracing happiness as a way of being.
No striving or earning necessary.
[Tweet “Ananda Hum – I am bliss. #thisisbliss”]
People don’t talk about bliss. I think we worry that it seems selfish.
Who am I to want bliss when so much of the world is at war, and suffering?
But wanting to feel happiness is not selfish; it is a human desire to return to the essence of our true nature.
Joy
Bliss
Happiness
Happiness is our true nature; all I have to do is think back to those days with my best friend Barb to remember.
I also think it takes a commitment, for in the busyness of life, we forget – I know I do.
[Tweet “Today, a new practice begins, a devotion to feeling joy, and finding ananda within. #thisisbliss”]