I bite into my sandwich and for a moment I feel the texture of the bread in my hands. I notice the sponginess, the pores on the surface, the color of what I eat. I hear the hum of the various electric appliances in the kitchen. It blows my mind, this acute awareness of all the physical senses. I am not even sure when was the last time I paid attention to what I ate, what I heard, what I touched, what I tasted, what I smelled – all at the same time.
It hit me that this was happiness. That what remains when your heart and mind are not busy worrying, grieving, feeling envious, being anxious, feeling stressed or feeling tired. This stillness is all there is to our core. I have often conflated happiness with joy and euphoria, the momentary dopamine hit when something good happens. Obviously it dissipates making me feel like happiness is fleeting.
Happiness is not fleeting. It is a constant. It is ananda – all that remains when everything else is removed.
My mind is blown!
Leave a Reply