Hi, welcome back to

your Daily Mindfulness.

In today's session, we're

going to talk about trying to

attain permanent happiness.

I'll start with a bold statement.

There is no experience that will

lead to permanent happiness.

I'll say it again and this time

really let these words and the

understanding of these words sink in.

There is no experience, no experience

that will lead to permanent happiness.

Now once we understand this,

and by the way, you don't have

to take this at face value.

You could explore this in your own life.

But it's a truth that contemplative

practitioners, meditation

practitioners, and people who have

lived life continue to come back to.

And once we do understand it, it

shifts how we pursue fulfillment.

And some would say it's even when the

big work begins of our personal growth.

Yes, certain life changes can have lasting

improvements to our overall wellbeing,

sometimes in really massive ways.

But to think that some future arrangement

of conditions will permanently satiate

our thirst for fulfillment is, it's folly.

It's a hollow pursuit and our

incessant grasping for the conditions

that will finally make that possible.

Well, that actually works against

us in the end because we create so

much extra tension along the way,

constantly feeling unsatisfied.

I recognize also that permanent

happiness is a tall order.

And an easy pushback to this could be,

well Cory, I'm not looking for permanent

happiness, if that's even possible.

I'm just looking for life to be good

enough to be able to roll with the

punches, experience a bit more joy.

Awesome.

I fully support that.

And, and to that sentiment,

I'll say two things.

The first is I see many people say

this, but tend to act differently.

That is our relationship to life and

future moments reflect more of an

underlying assumption still that once

I get there, then I'll have happiness.

Just kind of keep our heads down,

working really hard to that future

moment, even though we know we,

I don't want permanent happiness.

There's this feeling of like, once

I get there, then I'll have it.

So I think that's worth reflecting on.

The second thing is that you can

absolutely live a really good life

playing the game of more pleasure

and less pain and arranging your life

conditions to improve that ratio.

This is what, I think you could

argue, most people aim to do.

And there are endless examples of people

who feel satisfied with this path.

However, there are also many people who

become disillusioned by these highs and

lows and start to look toward a different,

more lasting form of fulfillment.

And to pursue that path is

a slightly different game.

It requires going inward instead of

outward, seeking to understand how the

mind works and how its relationship to

experience create suffering or happiness.

And then systematically training

the mind to change its relationship

to experience in service of less

suffering and more fulfillment.

This is indeed a path and it's

one that you're on through

mindfulness and meditation.

So I hope this gives you something

to think about in the context

of the work that you're doing.

And also just as a reflection of

when you think about happiness.

Is it something in this distant

moment that you're working toward?

And once things come together in

this way, even though you've seen so

many of those scenarios before play

out and be hollow, is there still

this feeling of once I get there.

And what would it be like to soften

around that, drop into this moment and

see, is it possible to find a little bit

more contentment right here, right now?

That's a significant path.

Thank you for your practice.

Let's settle in for today's meditation.