Joyful Pursuits

by Kevin B. Burk, author of The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness, lately, and also about the awesome power of words.

We already know that our words define our world—that our entire experience of the (little “r”) reality is nothing but words, and if we change the words, we change the world.

The challenge is to be fully aware of what the words we choose actually mean. Words are slippery things and they often lead double lives. Just because two words have similar meanings does not mean that they mean the same thing. (Case in point: “similar” is different from “same.”)

In order to manifest the kinds of experiences we truly desire, we have to pay close attention to semantics, and investigate the hidden life of even the most innocuous words.

For example, lets consider “happiness.” Most of us can agree that we would like to be more happy. Happiness is something that we usually welcome in our lives. In fact, America is even founded on (and defined by) the pursuit of happiness.

How could happiness be anything less than desirable? Where is the harm in happy?

I first began to explore these questions when I realized that “happiness” is not one of the eternal qualities of All That Is. Joy is an eternal quality; so are Bliss and Delight. Happiness, on the other hand, doesn’t make the cut.

The eternal qualities of All That Is are, well, eternal. They’re always present, always available to us, and all we need do is be open to experiencing them.

Happiness, on the other hand is notorious for its fickleness. It shows up in brief flashes, and never seems to stick around for very long. As soon as we begin to enjoy the fact that we’re happy, a part of us (our ego, of course) starts to worry about the fact that it can’t last, and at some point in the future we won’t be happy any longer. This thought always turns out to be a major buzz kill.

Happiness, in fact, is a creature of the ego. Think about it. We’re never simply happy. We’re always happy about something. Our happiness is always contingent on external circumstances. We believe that when we get the things that we want, then we’ll be happy.

Of course, the more attached we become to getting the things that we want, the more that we believe that our happiness depends on things outside of ourselves, the less safe we feel. And the less safe we feel, the more likely we are to create attachments and look outside of ourselves for salvation.

When you really think about it, happiness—and the pursuit of happiness—only reinforces our belief in the illusion of separation from the Source.

If you don’t think that creates problems, consider America.

Now, let me be clear: I love being an American. I love this country, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world. Even so, America isn’t perfect. America was founded on three core principles. The first two, Life and Liberty are perfectly wonderful. Life and Liberty are admirable, positive qualities that are responsible for all that is good and decent and strong about America and Americans. The third principle, however, “the Pursuit of Happiness” is responsible for everything that is unfortunate about America and Americans.

I won’t go into the current American foreign policy (although it is most definitely a symptom of the “Pursuit of Happiness” run amok). Let’s simply consider some facts about the American way of life.

Americans are 5% of the world’s population and yet we consume 24% of the world’s energy. We consume 20% of the world’s resources and produce 22% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. We generate 75% of the world’s hazardous waste, and every day, Americans collectively consume roughly 200 billion more calories than we need—enough to feed 80 million people.

Americans do all of this in the pursuit of happiness. Our entire culture is founded on the assumption that we must look outside of ourselves for fulfillment. We may be the most affluent society on the planet, but we also have the greatest poverty consciousness on the planet. No matter how much we consume, it’s never enough. The more we consume, the emptier we feel, and the emptier we feel, the more we consume.

If happiness is the cause of so much suffering, what’s the alternative?

I personally feel that happiness is a poor substitute for Joy. Think about it. No one ever “jumped for happy.” Beethoven never wrote an “Ode to Happy,” and neither has anyone else, for that matter.

Don’t get me wrong—happiness is a very pleasant experience. I welcome being happy; however, I do my best not to pursue it. When it shows up, I enjoy it, and when it goes, I let it. Happiness isn’t worth the effort. Joy, on the other hand, is worth pursuing.

The irony, of course, is that we don’t have to pursue Joy. Joy, as one of the eternal qualities of All That Is, is always present, always available to us. Joy bubbles up from within us, spontaneously lifting our spirits, opening our hearts, and filling us with so much love and lightness of being that we can’t help but jump and shout and sing.

When we experience Joy, we never worry about how long it will last because when we experience Joy, time has no meaning. Joy, like so much else worth living for, only exists in the now; in order to experience Joy, we must be completely aware of the present moment.

Never underestimate the power of the present moment. The “Present Moment Awareness” exercise on page 48 ofThe Relationship Handbookis the single most powerful technique I’ve ever encountered. This one simple exercise has the power to restore the balance in our Safety Accounts, allow us to release all of our attachments, reconnect with the truth of who we are, and experience all of the eternal qualities, including Joy, Bliss and Delight.

Just imagine what America would be like if it were founded on the principles of Life, Liberty and the Experience of Joy. The world would be a very different place today, I know that.

I encourage you not to settle for happy. Experience Joy instead. It’s cheaper, more durable, instantly available to everyone, and it doesn’t harm the environment. Not to mention that jumping is excellent exercise, and considering how many excess calories Americans consume each day, we could all use a little more Joy in our lives.

Kevin B. Burk is the author of The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life. Visit http://www.EveryRelationship.com for a FREE Report on creating Amazing Relationships.

©2006 Kevin B. Burk, all rights reserved. If you would like to reprint this article in your publication, web page, or eZine (which you may do for free!), click here for details.

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