The pleasure of being miserable
Pleasure and misery are opposites — how, then, can there be any pleasure in being miserable? Because the mind is a peculiar thing; it can [...]
How can we be grateful when we don’t feel grateful?
When we strive to cultivate gratitude, we often find it elusive. At one moment, we feel grateful; sometime later, we feel the opposite: fearful, fretful, [...]
How to feel grateful when life gets tough?
Here are two thought-exercises: Dwell on the wonders of life: Though life can be demanding, even devastating, it also features much beauty, artistry and sublimity. [...]
Why gratitude is especially difficult in today’s world
Even when we have enough of the things we need, we don’t always feel grateful for them. Why is that? Because we don’t see the [...]
Why is it so difficult to feel grateful?
If asked specifically to list things we are grateful for, we all can easily list several things. Yet during our daily life, we don’t so [...]
Happiness is found not in collecting and consuming, but in connecting and contributing
Today’s corporate-controlled consumerist culture makes us believe that our success and happiness are defined by how much we collect and how much we consume: how [...]
Happiness is savored best when seen through the corner of the eye, not when stared at straight
Suppose an image looks attractive when seen straight, but looks breathtaking when seen from an angle. To best relish that image, we need to consciously [...]
We have to risk going too far to know how far we can go
Suppose we are seeking something that requires effort and involves risk. When we start stretching ourselves, others may caution us, “You are going too far [...]
To savor what is most sweet, we often need to shed the most sweat
If we want to eat food, we need to earn it. If we want to eat sweet food, we need to pay more, that is, [...]
The images of prosperous people that make us burn with envy are just our mind’s illusions
Suppose we see someone driving a Porsche and looking prosperous. That sight may make us burn with envy and resentment: “Why do they get to [...]
Our loudest desires won’t lead us to happiness – our deepest desires will
In a conversation, suppose one person speaks the loudest. That doesn’t make them right; the person who has given the deepest thought to the issues [...]
The mind overvalues things it doesn’t have and undervalues things it does have
Suppose we are selling something to buy something in exchange. If we undervalued what we had and overvalued what we didn’t have, we would end [...]
Satisfaction comes by knowing ourselves, not by making ourselves known
Suppose we see someone who turns heads wherever they go. We may naturally want to be similarly well known. Given the world’s hugeness and crowdedness, [...]
To be happy is possible, to be happier than others is impossible
We all want to be happy, but we often tie our happiness to certain conceptions. One such common conception is that we will become happy [...]
Stop resenting your struggles, start habituating yourselves to them – and they will start hurting less
Suppose we have to do something difficult, be it physical such as push-ups or intellectual such as complicated assignments or spiritual such as mantra meditation. [...]
Fulfilling our every desire won’t make us happy, focusing on our most important desire will
We all have many desires that remain unfulfilled because we don’t have the necessary resources. For example, we may want to wear the trendiest clothes, [...]
Happiness is a state of being, not a status symbol
People often pretend to be happy. No matter how distressed they are, they plaster a smile on their face in front of others and say [...]
The most damaging consequence of indulgence is nonchalance towards indulgence
Suppose a butcher’s child kills an animal for the first time. Initially, his hand and heart may tremble: “How can I kill?” However, if he [...]
Don’t let the quest for perfection become the tomb of progression
When we try to grow spiritually, we may seek perfect self-control. But just as a child falls before learning to walk, so too do we [...]
Indiscriminate indulgence makes the impulsive compulsive
No one desires to become an addict. When people drink, they usually want to have a good time with their friends. However, each time they [...]
Be not eager for the meager
Suppose someone invited us for a feast and then delivered food so meager that it wouldn’t satisfy even a squirrel. If they invited and under-delivered [...]