can we find happiness, here in this moment?if not here and now, then when?
this underlying dissatisfaction and dis-ease is at the heart of Buddhism’s First Noble Truth, that life is suffering.
not that life is itself some horrible or tragic thing, not at all. our suffering partly comes from attaching ourselves to things, people and life as if these things won’t change or pass away in a world where all things change and pass away. and our suffering also comes from a desire that we must have things a certain way or that we must have more in order to be happy, to have happiness.

and yes, we have goals and dreams and these can be great motivators and they can bring benefit and happiness to ourselves and others.
but can we be happy in this moment, even while we journey towards those goals and dreams? 
can we be happy in this moment if they don’t happen or happen the way we thought they would?

can we be happy with just what is, here and now?
this is a struggle in western culture, in a culture of want, driven by attainment of things, people, and status. 
we have enough.
the Thich Nhat Hanh calligraphy and the quote below remind us that we can have happiness right now, here where we are at. 

there is abundance.
“I see a fearless generosity in the flowers and trees, in the way birds sing out at dawn, in the steady drumming of the rain. As I grew older and found I had things to protect, I forgot. I completely forgot that I had always had enough in the first place. Now I am trying to learn this once again—total abundance, nothing begrudged.”

~ Sallie Tisdale
#WeHaveEnough #abundance #happiness #life #suffering #peace