“Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind…If you have everything the world can give – pleasure, possessions, power – but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy.” (Dada Vaswani)
I grew up in a family that had plenty of money and never went without anything. I travelled to tons of nice places, I went on many vacations, I ate out at loads of lavish restaurants, I received many expensive gifts and gadgets, and I grew to believe that happiness only came in the form of things like these. As I got older and ventured out on my own, my sole desire was to pursue even more of them, Soon I added alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, sex, and control over others to the mix, believing each would also bring me great happiness. But in the long run none ever did. I should have known they wouldn’t though, because I never did see my family have any peace of mind growing up, even in all our abundance. Thankfully, I eventually went through a period where I lost most of everything I sought so hard after, and in the process, I discovered something my family never did, true happiness. It was always there, except I kept looking for it in the wrong places, mainly outside of me. I’m quite grateful I can say now that I fully understand why true happiness really only comes from an inner quality, and never an external one.
I pray I may discover the true happiness that has always resided within me and become open to letting go of all the external things I’m holding onto that are preventing me from seeing it.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson