Harmony Quote

“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product” – Eleanor Roosevelt

It is only immature people who believe “I am separate; therefore, I can manipulate you, even exploit you, to ensure my own happiness.”

To think that we can pursue joy as a collector pursues butterflies, seeking it here and there, is a folly. We can never go after joy because joy has to come after us. 

It is like the horizon. When you look from Berkeley Hills, the horizon looks as if it is just beyond the Golden Gate. You honestly believe that if you go there that you will reach the horizon. But as you pursue it, it recedes farther and farther, and that is the nature of pleasure. It peeps out from the store, the restaurant, the bank, but when you enter there you will find that it recedes farther and farther, and that is the nature of pleasure. 

When we seek a higher goal – for the welfare of our family and community – joy slowly tip toes after us. We don’t have to say to joy, “Excuse me, will you please come to my house?” Joy will come and put her suitcase down and say, “I am going to be here whether you like it or not.” This is how happiness comes.

(From ‘Words To Live By’ by Eknath Easwaran, founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, copyright 2005; reprinted by permission of Nilgiri Press, P.O. Box 256, Tomales, Ca 94971, www.bmcm.org.)