HAPPINESS

Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a byproduct of love and service. Service is the law of our being. With love in our heart, there is always some service to other people. A life of power and joy and satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are selfish are going against the law of their own being. They are cutting themselves off from God and other people. Little acts of love and encouragement, of service and help, erase the rough places of life and make the path smooth. If we do these things, we cannot help having our share of happiness.


Twenty-Four Hours a Day
From AUGUST 28th page
[HAZELDEN MEDITATIONS]

Make no mistake, I have nothing whatsoever against going to the high Himalayas, joining an ashram or practicing with a guru, but I see others do this with no appreciable change except that they might have that glazed, trance-like-eyes for a time. Appearing spiritual and rushing about from one retreat, sweat lodge, Twelve Step meeting, church, one spa to another, my friends may be deluding themselves thinking they are achieving some sort of merit or life-skill. If I come away from these activities, without a direction toward service I am merely chasing bliss and never finding it.

    There was a public service ad on early television of the fifties admonishing us baby-boomers to: Stop; Look; and Listen when approaching a rail-road crossing. My daily practice of meditation involves taking a break… to Stop to Look at myself and Listen, for the inspiration that comes from the willingness to do the next right thing. It just turns out that doing the next right thing involves service to others in one way or another. I have a hard time loving others when I don’t serve them. I have a hard time seeing myself in the midst of humanity and being an active participant in my own life when I am not giving away what I have found. If I am busy chasing happiness or spiritual perfection I miss the point.
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