Happiness Meditation Poem: “Good Morning!”

Sometimes a little poem or meditation can help you keep the core elements of your philosophy fresh in your mind. I love all the little poems in the Tao Te Ching. They help Taoists stay connected to their philosophy. I’ve written a few pieces of my own that serve the same sort of purpose for me. Here, below the fold, is a little meditation/poem to be read in the morning to help set yourself on the right path for the day.

Happiness Meditation Poem – Good Morning!

Another day!

Time for good cheer!

I shall not bother myself with stupid crap today.

I can’t wait for everything
	to go smoothly

or for there to be no calamities, no awkwardness, no awfulness.

I can’t wait for myself to stop making damn stupid mistakes
and other people to start being as kind to me as I’d prefer
and for all my fondest wishes to materialize effortlessly.

I have preferences, and good for them,
but they are not the doorway to the mood,
the state of mind and being,
	that I seek

	so I cannot wait for them to pan out,

	for the externals to go perfectly or even to go well
	
	before I put myself right internally.

Happiness is the starting point, not the end, and
	it is not out there – outside – out there, somewhere…

	It is not in the hands of other people;
	they cannot give it to you by liking you,
             approving of you,
             loving you,
             or mating with you,

	and once you have it, they cannot take it away
          unless you let them.

	It is not within a material possession
	that you can purchase and grasp in your fingers –
             not in a house,
             a car,
             a boat,
             an electronic device however nice.

	It is not bestowed like a trophy
            when you’ve finally achieved an external goal –

	    run a marathon,
            published a book,
            started a business,
	    landed a role in the movies,

	wealth and fame,
	dream job, dream family, dream life;

	you will not reach it when you’ve finally
        piloted the knotty expanse and landed upon
            the wishing star,

	for the you who steps foot
        on that alien world
            is not an alien you,

            but the same old you,

	the same cognitive constructs
        go along for the ride,
        wherever you are.

	Go get what you want from
                 the great out there,

	but happiness will not follow;
	it isn’t in that place.

Happiness is in here – inside – right in here,
	in the little sphere between head and heart,
	in consciousness,

	where beliefs bubble up into thoughts
	and thoughts burst out into emotions
	and emotions trigger physiological responses and behaviors
	and these wind backwards, reinforcing beliefs,

	generating feedback loops, good or bad.
	Moods.

Happiness is the starting point.

	Nothing comes easy without it, and
	without it nothing is fully enjoyed.	

	With it, the engine of will roars to life and
        the spark of motivation lights on its own,

	and decisions are easier to make.

It calms,

  and puts everything

				into

						perspective.

Wake up, when you wake up,
	to this starting point,

	the one right here.

	Start inside.

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