High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘purpose’

It was crowded in their section of the woods.  In the summer, when the leaves were full, the little ones had to do with very little light.  And they had to learn to push their branches upward because there was little room to stretch out.

Most of the young ones accepted their situation  as the natural order of things.  But on one particularly warm spring day, one of them started to complain.

Just then, two young humans came to sit in the shade at the edge of the woods right beside him.  One of them opened a book she was carrying and said to the other, “Here it is.  It’s from Madame Curie; it’s exactly what I was trying to say.”  And then she read him this:

“Life is not easy for any of us.  But what of that?  We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.  We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”

“You see?” she said.  “We have to believe that we have a gift and keep going until we find it.  That’s what drives us forward.   I know that it’s frustrating when we don’t know what that gift is.  But we have to keep going until we find out.”

The two of them talked a while longer and then they wandered on.  But their words stayed with the young tree, and led him to believe that his discomfort had a purpose that would make it all worthwhile.

He stretched a little higher and raised his branches more.   A robin came and built a nest in them and he watched the babies hatch and learn to fly.

When autumn came and all the leaves had fallen, the young tree looked about him and noticed how tall he had grown.  He saw the nests of grass beneath him where the deer took refuge from the hunters and the cold winds and the rabbits burrowed.  And as he stood there, the late afternoon sun warming his bark, he felt a stirring deep within  in his core, and he recognized his gift and was proud.

Initially the lilacs chose the Earth mission because it sounded like such an adventure.  The place was known, after all, for its challenges and extremes.  Well, that, and for its incredible beauty.

They had to undergo rigorous testing before they were approved.  Successful candidates for the program had to be resilient and hardy, able to withstand wide-ranging contrasts of heat and cold, to survive in rich and poor soils, to stand against buffeting winds and pummeling rains.  Most of all, they had to have strong hearts.

During their first few years of the mission, they found out why they had to be so strong.  The planet’s reputation for challenges and extremes was well deserved, they learned; they were indeed put to the test.  It was everything they could hope for in an adventure.

As for the beauty of the place, it was indescribable, and the lilacs were filled with bliss just to have a part in its unfolding.

As the years passed, the lilacs discovered something more.  So many of the people who lived on earth were lost, and confused, and filled with pain.  They had, for the most part, forgotten who they were and so they fought with one another and caused each other great distress and pain.  It was heart-wrenching to watch.

How meaningful it was, then, for the lilacs to discover that they had the power, simply by expressing their own nature, to bring the humans comfort with their beauty, and to heal their spirits with their perfume.  It gave the flowers a sense of purpose that elevated their souls and made every challenge worthwhile.  They had dreamed of adventure, and discovered, in service, pure joy.

They were told, of course, before they volunteered for the Earth adventure, that it wouldn’t be easy.   Earth, after all, was an experimental world, far from settled, and subject to great extremes.

It was a place of breathless beauty and exquisite pleasures, to be sure.  But they were balanced by hardships severe enough to test the bravest soul.

The crocuses volunteered eagerly nonetheless.  To hold true to your mission on Earth, to spread your petals and blossom there was to win the gold.

But it wasn’t the gold they were after.  It wasn’t even the thrill of the adventure.  What really and truly motivated them was the opportunity to express the depth of their love for their mission: to spread joy to the farthermost edges of the inhabited universe, to express it even in the wilds of time and space.

In their hearts they knew that was the key: to hold fast to believing, no matter what, in the sanctity of spreading joy.

And so when the snows fell on their freshly opened petals, they folded themselves carefully inward and quietly chanted their creeds of happiness.  When the winds blew and the night brought frost, they turned their thoughts to their mission, and murmured to one another, “I believe; I believe,” until they fell asleep.

Finally, just as their last bit of strength was fading, the sun rose over the rim of the hills.  And at the touch of its very first rays, the little flowers felt hope rippling through them and a delicious, growing warmth.

One by one, they began to open their petals, gingerly at first, and then in sudden bursts of delight.  Before the sun was even half way up its climb, they were standing tall and broad and open, and their laughter spilled across the lawn and into the air.  It rose to the treetops, where it kissed the morning birds and sailed up to the sky in gladness and praise for the Great Yes who had sent them.  And the Great Yes echoed back their gladness, and the Earth was filled with joy.

It didn’t matter that no one saw.  It wouldn’t have mattered if thousands had seen.

She gave no thought to the fact that others around her had already accomplished their great work, or that some of them were behind.   They were a part of her, and she of them; there was nothing to compare.

The warmth of the sun pleased her, but it never occurred to her to think its light was accenting her beauty.  She didn’t think of herself at all.

That her bright leaves were falling from her boughs was no concern.  She watched them sail on the morning’s breeze and delighted in their freedom.

She was consumed by a single desire: to bring forth the gold from within.  That was what drove her.  That was her ecstasy and joy, her entire purpose in being.

And so, on this October morning, she spread her branches and sang her song.  And all the world was glad.

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The way the fog wrapped the morning so deeply made you want to tiptoe, lest you disturb it or tear a hole in it somehow.   Even the light was whispering.

Then it left, so gently that you didn’t even see it go.  You just woke from your dream and it was daylight in a crisp, clear world.

That’s the way October works her monumental change, transforming billowing summer into a stark November in a calendar’s month of days.

That’s a lot of magic, when you think about it.  Maybe it’s a model for change:   Quietly, one subtly determined motion after another, with a soft persistence and gentle intensity, you focus on your purpose and  turn your life around.

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Although he wore gold epaulets and amethyst garb, he gave no thought to his position.  His eye was fastened on his purpose, on following its light.

He was the first in his rank to rise, and he did so bravely.  Without regard to the drought or overpowering heat, he unfurled his thick cape and gazed steadily into the day.

His task was to rise, to stand, and nothing more.  He was of the front guard, a wayshower, and he was determined to perform his mission with all the might he could muster.

The meager supply of morning dew evaporated quickly beneath the blazing sun’s gaze, but it was enough to encourage him.  He assayed his resources.  He had strong roots and faith in the soil that gave him birth.  And although there was no breeze to bring him comfort, he saw the stand of woods to the south and judged he could endure the sun until its leafy boughs would shield him.

As the day wore on, he looked about him.  It was really quite beautiful here in the field.  Goldenrod blossomed at its edge and the air was thick with bees.  Once he accustomed himself to it, he discovered the sun’s hot rays were actually pleasing.  He flung his cape open further to let more of its stimulating light play against him.  And he encouraged the troops around him to stand with him and witness the day.

Late in the afternoon, he saw an old man walking up the far end of his row, studying the troops closely.  A distance behind him a woman walked and two small dogs.  He heard the soft crunch of the man’s heavy boots as they edged nearer and nearer.  The old man stopped directly before him and bent over staring.

“Martha!  Look!”  the old man shouted to the woman behind him.  “Look, Martha!  A blossom!”  The man laughed, his wrinkled face breaking into a grin so bright it rivaled the sun.  “We’re going to have potatoes after all!  Hallelujah!”

And the blossom straightened more and was humbled and glad to have triggered such joy.

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Every hue its place in the rainbow, every note has its place in the song.  Every motion, every season, every leaf and bug and star plays its part in the magnificent unfolding.

Even those things that live in the darkness.  The things we call vile; the things that repulse.  They, too, play their part, although you must stand at a great distance to see it and look through clear eyes.

Nothing goes to waste.  Nothing is unused or in vain.  Everything serves; everything supports and contributes. Every thought.  Every gesture.  Every breath.  Every word.

A hand larger than we can conceive weaves it all together into one endless song according to laws too high for us to comprehend except in the deepest reaches of our being.  And they guide us and shape us, as they do with all things, so that we, too, are a part of great harmony of it all, whether we know it or not.

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“We live only to discover beauty.  All else is a form of waiting.” ~Kahlil Gibran

When beauty spreads itself before you, pause and breathe it in.  Pause, setting aside your thoughts and your doings, and let it shower you with its radiant and animating light.  Let it sing to you its song of exaltation.  Let it flow molten into the depths of you, quickening your soul with its sparks of wonder, its flame of truth.

This is a mystical training.  For beauty’s purpose is to reflect to you the essence of the light within your own heart.  It is life, dancing naked before you, taking the form of a bird, a face, a leaf, a river, a sky.  And the more deeply you see it, the more you come to understand that you, too, are its child and its expression.

Immerse yourself in it.  Ride its tender waves to the edges of the cosmos, to the pure, still point within.  Let it guide and teach you.  “When you reach the heart of life,” the poet Gibran declared, “you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.”  This is its ultimate lesson.  May it be your destiny and goal.

The showers began in the wee hours and continued throughout the day.  Coming as they did on a Saturday, no doubt they caused some consternation.  It’s the season, after all, for weddings and picnics in the park.  But for me, it was a day of raining joy.

With the perfect excuse to postpone my errands, I brewed a pot of tea and parked myself at my computer to write.  I’m working hard on my imminent launch of Positive-Living-Now, a sister website for High on Happiness, where you’ll find a growing wealth of resources for building more meaning, joy and satisfaction into your own life.   (You can sign up right now to be in on the launch.  Check it out!)

As much as I appreciate and enjoy my day job, it does gobble up my energy and time.  To have an entire day to spend on my key projects is bliss.  So today I reveled in my writing and my graphic arts.

To have meaningful personal goals makes of your life a joyous journey.  They provide such a sense of direction and purpose.  They illuminate your path. They call you forward and stretch you to learn in their service.

When you have meaningful goals, they pull you to tap your best strengths, to hone your abilities, to risk leaps you wouldn’t otherwise have dared.  They keep you going when you’re weary and discouraged.  They tantalize and torment you with problems to solve, and so you’re never bored.

You find yourself getting lost in them, losing all sense of time because you’re so engaged.  And when at last you set them aside for the day, the satisfaction washes over you as if it’s been raining joy.

Down the road, we’ll talk about how to find a genuinely meaningful goal at Positive-Living Now.   For now, ask yourself what you really love doing, what you would most want to create in your life—even if you have no idea how you would find the time or the means for doing it.  Then just lightly play with your dream from time to time.  See where it leads you.  See what possibilities float into your awareness, what options appear that could move you toward a clearer vision of the shape it could take, the steps you might make in its direction.  It all begins, after all, with a dream.

Grab one.  Nurture it a little.  Watch how it grows, and how it grows you.  See if you don’t wake up one morning watching joy clouds moving your way.

“Why am I so happy now?” Once again, I asked myself the question that launched this blog.

Surrounded as I was by the fresh beauty of this almost-spring afternoon, finding answers was easy.  Blue sky, laughing brook, the soft pink haze of growing buds on the distant trees, the glorious white branches of the sycamores—who could want more?

I was doing one of my favorite things, connecting with nature, collecting bits of this instant of time with my camera.  I was exactly where I wanted to be, doing exactly what I wanted to be doing.

Today is the three-quarter mark on my journey toward my goal: to make a nature photo every day for a year and post it online.  I wasn’t aware of that as I hunted images, though.  The satisfaction of realizing the milestone came later.

While I was taking photographs, I was totally in the flow of the activity, focused wholly on the moment, on seeing what was there before me with my practiced eye, hearing the crunch of leaves beneath my feet and the rushing of the stream and the singing of the birds.  I was feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on my face and the soft bite of the still-cool air.

Having a goal matters.  A goal gives you a sense of purpose and direction.  It keeps you focused on digging more deeply into your skill sets and strengths.  It teases you into developing your talents.  And as you see that the achievement of it is really only a matter of persistence, it motivates you to keep on keeping on.  It strengthens your will and determination.

But the journey itself is what opens the happiness valves.  The journey engages you and brings you into the present, into the only moment where you are truly alive, the only time when it is possible to take the next step.  And the next, and the next.  And each one is play, even when it is hard work.