Hello Dear Ones,

Do you sometimes wonder why you aren't feeling joy and happiness?

Do you think things like: "If I had more money I'd be happy" or "When I have the perfect relationship, I'll be happy" or "If my health was only better, then I'd be happy" ?

Most of us do. And then we go into action pursuing that goal, hoping that when it is achieved we'll find lasting joy and happiness.

Sorry, dear ones, it doesn't work that way. Pursuing anything, believing it will bring happiness is a losing proposition. You know how it goes. You go after whatever it is, and then even if you achieve your goal, there is only a momentary elation, and then you're right back where you started, feeling incomplete, looking for the next goal that you think will bring happiness.

You cannot find happiness or joy by pursuing it directly. The most obvious reason for this is that happiness and joy are our natural state of being. So if you are on the quest of finding it somewhere outside yourself, you won't find it because you are looking in the wrong direction.

There's a story about an old woman in a small village who is standing outside her hut, looking all around for her lost necklace. The neighbors come along and begin to help her in her search outside the hut. "Where do you last remember seeing it?" someone asks her. "Somewhere in the hut" she replys. "Have you looked inside the hut?" she is asked. "No," she says, "it's too dark in there. I'm looking out here where the light is better."

Looking for joy or happiness outside ourselves is being like this woman. We are looking in the wrong place.

Happiness is a by product. That's why it's called happiness, because it "happens." If you won't find it by pursuing it, how do you find your joy and happiness?

The way to find it is by being totally present, here and now. Not thinking about the past, or projecting into the future, but being right here, right now, where life lives.

In spending time with my beautiful grandchildren, I can't help but notice how full of joy and happiness they are. Why are they so happy? They are living totally in the present moment. They do so until we begin to condition them to be ambitious, to achieve this and that outside themselves. We drum the joy right out of them in the same way it was drummed out of us.

How can we be more present? The easiest way is to put our attention on something that is present. It can be anything. Focus your attention on a flower, or a tree, a bird or pet, preferably something from the natural world. However, anything that doesn't think will do. Mix in a pinch of gratitude, and you're home free!

When in action, be total with your action, not doing one thing and thinking of another. The ego mind won't want you to behave this way, because when you're total, unified, the ego has no existence. It is only in separation that the ego thrives.

Being fragmented, living in past and future, is isolating, separating, and creates ego, creating misery. Being total, being present, is expansive and inclusive of life, and undoes the ego, thereby allowing our natural joy and happiness to flow.

Blessings and Joy, Max Osho-Well