Of course! Yes! Absolutely!
Those are the answers that everyone will give if asked, are you ready to be happy?
However, the question is not as simple as it seems.
If it was, most of us would be happy by now.
So why are we not happy?
What is holding us back?
Let’s dive in and explore.
Related: The Way To Happiness – A Course In Miracles Review
Are You Ready To Be Happy?
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. – Plutarch
Yes, at the surface, this question seems very basic.
However, if we are all ready to be happy, how come almost no one is.
Well, to answer that question, we need to look more carefully at what it means to be ready to be happy.
How ready we are is very closely linked to the perception that we currently hold of the world and ourselves.
Are we willing to let that go?
Are we willing to be open to a new perception of what we think the world is?
Are we ready to ” pay the cost” of finally becoming happy?
Let’s find out.
Related: Learn How To Be Still – And Discover A New World
Our Perception Of The World
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems, but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems incredible. – Salman Rushdie
We all want to be happy but the current perception of our world is sadly one where lasting happiness is not possible.
We perceive the world and our experience in it as a painful journey with even more painful ending.
How can we ever achieve lasting happiness believing that this is what life is all about?
We cannot.
Many have tried to ease the pain of living in the current perception of our temporary world by trying to justify to themselves that because this world, and everything in it is not permanent, that’s why we should be grateful and happy.
Why doesn’t this approach work?
Because it is not the truth.
The temporary, perishable world that we have build is not the true world, it cannot be.
Life cannot end or parish, otherwise it would not be life.
So, I am very sorry to remind you, but if you truly want, and are ready to be happy, you will have to let go of the idea of the world that you currently hold in your mind and be open to seeing the reality as it really is.
It will require a change of perspective that you will most likely be very resistant to at first.
So, what is the real world?
Related: Do We Have Control Over Our Lives? – A Reality Shattering Question
What Is The Real World?
Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. – George Orwell
Everything that you see and hear is your own interpretation of the reality.
It is not real, you made it by perceiving it the way you do.
Everything you see is perishable where reality is a constant state.
Reality is perfect peace and love.
What dies was never living in reality.
Reality is permanence and exists forever the same.
Reality cannot change, otherwise it would not be permanent.
The world we see right now is nothing more than appearances. And appearances deceive. Reality is changeless. If you do not see beyond appearances you are deceived. Everything that we see will change therefore it cannot be reality.
We must be able to transcend all form to see the true reality.
Are we ready to make that choice?
Related: Fear In Spirituality – The Veil to Higher Dimensions
A Choice To Be Made
Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life. – Eckhart Tolle
We have invested a lot of time and efforts into building this illusory world of ours.
However, we all have a choice to make, do we want to continue living in the unreal world chasing peace and happiness where it can never be found or are we ready to give that up to receive the real peace and happiness that the true reality will give us.
You think this is a simple choice?
No, this is not a simple choice, at least not at first.
The cost of picking the true reality is your entire current world.
You cannot hold both perceptions at the same time.
By choosing the true reality, you will have to give up the world of form or at least realize that it is not real and therefore transcend it.
It all comes down to what is most important to you.
Do you want to preserve what you think you have build over the course of your live, or do you want peace and happiness?
You can’t have it both.
The truth is we are all choosing every day of our lives.
Every minute of our lives we are choosing the perception of the world that we prefer whether we realize that or not.
Most of us are not ready to give up the current illusion of the world.
The thought of your current world disappearing is so frightening that we choose to continue living in the illusion even if it’s costing us peace and happiness.
In the end, a time will come for all of us to make the right decision and see the true reality.
In the meantime, there is probably nothing that you can do to speed up the process.
When you are ready, you will know and the process will begin for you.
For now, just the understanding that you are truly not ready to be happy right now might should be helpful.
As for me, I know that as much as I say that I want peace and happiness, I am not truly ready to give up the world of form.
How do I know that?
Because I’m still in it.
I still see the pain and suffering, I still see life that appears to parish and end in death.
Conceptually, I now understand that all of that is not real but I’m not ready to give it all up.
It’s like I’m dreaming a pretty painful dream but I’m not ready to wake up from that dream even though I am aware that I’m dreaming it and that I have a choice of waking up.
Related: How To Escape Maya? – The Grand Illusion Of Life
The Hope
The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. – Robertson Davies
So, I gave up searching for happiness.
I know, it cannot be found here, where I’ve been looking for my whole life.
I’m still not happy, anxious and fearful most of the time but I have HOPE.
I have a better understanding of the world and my perception of it.
I am comforted knowing that a whole new world, the real world with no pain, suffering and death exists and that I will see it the moment I’m willing to give up this dream that I’m dreaming.
I am patient became I also understand that time is an illusion.
So if time doesn’t exist other than in my mind, what is the rush?
So try to take some comfort in that.
Give up the search for happiness and understand that unless you are willing to open your mind to the possibility that everything that you think and see is not real, you are not ready to be happy.
Unless you are willing to allow for the wrong perception of the world and who you think your are to be corrected, you are not ready to be happy.
We don’t live in the world of reality, we live in the world of how we perceive reality. – Bryan Singer
Related: What Is Divine Love? – And How Can We Reach It?
***If you have spotted a spelling error or an inconsistency, please contact me so I can fix it.***
Wow. Mind blown.
I’ve never seen happiness in this light before. I can’t decide if this post was beautiful or painful. I guess a bit of both. There is beauty to be found in pain. The comfort one shows another when they are down, the making it through to the other side where the pain is gone.
I have hope and while I cannot say I am happy, I am content with myself and with the world. But I understand, I think, what you are trying to say. Happiness is a choice, but if we were to measure that happiness by the state of the world we are living in we cannot be happy.
The more I think on it the more my mind whirls. But you have given me a perception to think about, for that I thank you.
Hello Kelly. I’m really glad that you enjoyed the article. I do agree with you, this post is both, very hopeful but also painful. I really like that there is hope of better world but like most people, I’m not exactly ready to give up the current world.
I also agree with you when it comes to happiness. I have so many things in my life to be happy about but for some reason I am not. I have searched and searched and now I know that the happiness that I’m looking for cannot be found in this world. This is very hard to understand and it took me years to wrap my head around this concept.
The fact that the world we see and hear is just our interpretation was another very hard truth to grasp. Now, I’m able to see that this world cannot be real. Life cannot end in death, otherwise it is not life. Everything in this world eventually ends in death, therefore this entire thing cannot be true. I still find that somewhat sad. But thinking of this world in terms of being asleep and dreaming it made it easier to grasp the concept. I hope that maybe one day soon I will be ready to wake up from the dream of death and see the real, loving and peaceful world that we have forgotten when we have “fallen asleep”.
This has been a very interesting post. And a very useful one too. Being happy is a choice. We don’t realize it, but most of the time, we are the ones that close the gates to being happy. We simply rule happiness away. I would like to daily upgrade the perspective I have of life to a richer and healthier one. And always keep on improving on my understanding of the things/persons/events that surround me.
Hello Ann, thank you for your comment. Yes, I completely agree with you. Happiness starts with our willingness to change and start allowing more happiness into our lives. Sometimes it appears to be hard work but it’s better to understand how the process works and take the responsibility for it.