Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
Let's close our eyes.
I remember listening to a podcast once,
Where I heard something very profound.
Naval Ravikant,
The guest on that podcast,
Said that desire is a contract we make with ourselves to be unhappy until it is fulfilled.
It is one of those things that you have to hear again and again to unpack the wisdom that is inherent in a sentence.
Because of the culture that we are a part of,
These contracts that have unhappiness sprinkled all over them.
These are just a part and parcel of our everyday life.
To the point where if I asked a simple question,
What is unhappiness?
What does it feel like?
We will not be able to encompass all the different levels of unhappiness that we experience.
Somehow that has become our default state.
Most of us wake up with an alarm.
So we start off our day by doing something that we inherently don't want to do just yet,
Namely waking up.
We are an inherently least rested culture and somehow we take pride in it.
Imagine what would happen to a baby if she was woken up before it was a natural time for her to wake up.
Why are we any different?
The same energy of I don't want to do this.
We start off our day like that and we try to find pockets of rest.
It probably starts with a cup of coffee,
Without a cup of coffee.
Our bodies cannot even say yes to the morning.
That's the first taste of happiness that we taste.
If for some reason we didn't get our cup of coffee.
There will be more unhappiness.
Namely irritation or complaining.
But we've already started off our day with a no.
Forcing something is by definition a no.
Forcing your body to wake up when you're not ready is a no.
Whether we are working from home or going into work,
The nature of our work,
Meetings,
Disagreements,
Discussions.
They're all rigged with unhappiness,
A desire to get our way.
Most of the times our desires are not met.
That's just the nature of desires.
But sometimes they are met.
So it keeps us in the game hunting.
So when we come to a sitting like this,
We don't know what we are going to get.
Neither is there an expectation or imagination of what might be said or explained in this session.
So you cannot make a contract with yourself to be unhappy coming into this.
You can go on running back you totally out of it.
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We don't know what's gonna happen.
Who's gonna say what?
Who's gonna do what?
.
But because of the repetitive nature of the days,
.
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So we create detailed plans.
Nothing wrong with creating plans.
Just a side note,
That I am thinking of right now.
.
I forget who said it,
But a famous boxer once said,
Everybody has a plan,
Until they get hit in their face.
As long as we have loosely held plans,
Enough to gently guide our day,
Those plans are healthy.
Once they become a predictor of the day,
.
Then we are trying to force the days to happen the way we want to,
And I'm sure I don't need to explain how well that plan goes.
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The point that I'm trying to make here,
Is every time,
.
We hold our happiness hostage,
To something happening or not happening.
.
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We are exercising freedom,
That we inherently have,
.
To either remain happy,
Or to become unhappy.
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Just like the feeling of no,
Not no as an answer to a question,
But know what is happening is not right,
That feeling of no.
I don't like this,
I don't agree with this,
I'm upset about this,
I'm so mad at this,
All those flavors of the feeling of no.
All those flavors of the feeling of no,
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Different levels of fear,
Different levels of anger,
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Are all unhappiness,
But then there is an attitude of yes,
Yes,
Let these words resonate in your body,
What this yes is for doesn't matter,
Just feel this yes,
Yes in your ears,
In your mind,
Yes in your body,
Yes is one of the vehicles of happiness,
Think of the times you were happy,
And see if you can recollect any no there,
That's just the nature of yes and that's just the nature of happiness,
It's a resounding yes to life,
.
And if we are a little more surgical in trying to understand how this yes and no feel in our body,
If we are sensitive,
We will feel a contraction,
For example if someone asks us to get up in front of a large crowd,
And say something unprepared,
The first emotion,
The first reaction in our body for most of us at least,
Will be no,
We might not say it out aloud,
But I'm sure you guys know how that no feels,
Feels like a wall,
A brick wall,
That nothing can penetrate through,
And think about receiving a call from your workplace,
And telling you that today is a holiday,
You don't need to work any longer,
Think of how that would feel in your body,
Before you formulate it as a relief with words,
There will be a relaxation,
And an opening in your body,
.
Different amplitudes of contraction,
And different amplitudes of relaxation,
Can be experienced throughout the day,
But if we take agency of our freedom,
Whether to exercise,
Our happiness,
And to express it,
Freely,
Creatively,
Or whether to hold it hostage,
Until we get something,
Until we feel a certain way,
Is completely our choice,
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