"The Way To Finding Happiness is by Building Walls of LovingKindness"

Excerpt from this Saturday's (March 3rd) 'Talk of Life' column in the Kingston Whig Standard........

I read somewhere that we cannot expect happiness. As I type this, my stomach does the same kind of flip it did when I initially read it. I struggle to get my head around the message the writer is sending as being able to achieve a sense of joy every day is my top priority. The idea that one cannot expect to obtain happiness within a lifetime is horrifying to me. The statement was so off putting that I reminded myself I had the choice to believe it or not, and I found solace in the words of the, ever so, wise Buddha;

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense”.

Knowing that I do not have to believe everything I read or hear brought me some comfort, but I still felt saddened for the writer’s readers should they be swayed by his sentiment and for him as he seemed to believe that he was unworthy of happiness. The fact that someone had such a low standard of receiving joy didn’t resonate well with me, and it made me wonder if I was interpreting his message correctly.............