Path of Happiness
A fat squirrel perches on one of the lower, substantial limbs, clutching an acorn. Her furry body becomes almost concave as she wraps herself around it, her front feet attached to the shell. It’s as if the encased nut has become part of her – the whole center of her, and it would take a mighty force to take it from her.
A short while passes and, still holding dear the acorn, she scampers in toward the trunk, down to the ground, and off along the path that winds through the Warrior Forest. The path is obscure, and occasionally becomes visible if an animal, like this squirrel, follows it and draws attention. It winds and dips, then climbs around boulders and past trees, as it seems to flow, marked by wild flowers, through the woodland. There are no signs that this path exists and few humans find it. Those that do are focused, looking for it, and enthusiastic. For that reason, the inhabitants of the Warrior Forest call it the Path of Happiness.
Michael Singer has written in his book, Untethered Soul, that the greatest spiritual study is the Path of Happiness. Chapter after chapter offers guidance for releasing the dramas that play out in front, as we learn to sit behind it all in quietness, and commit our lives to the pursuit of happiness, and in fact, to being happy. I think of this as I see the squirrel holding fast her acorn. I imagine that my own joy is a large nugget in the center of myself, that I mentally sit behind it, and all the dramas that I create out there can amuse me, or distress me, or please me, or frighten me, and cannot pass through the wall of my nugget self.
It’s not about “looking on the bright side”. Once one is committed to the Path of Happiness, one is ON the bright side. It is not about effort; it is about choice. Gratitude begins to flow through one’s self, involuntary and never ending, rather than a practice to effect change. The happiness is no longer an emotion that is sometimes felt, but rather, the bloom of the Radiant Self. It would take a mighty force to take it.
Some days this path is as easy as breathing, and some days I find myself choosing one of many dramas. (It’s a mental thing.) This Path of Happiness is my practice for now; and it is my most precious truth to share.
Sarah sarah@powerupeight.com
Photo by Tanner Deprin
