A Thought from The Habituated Buddhist

This was a reply of mine to a post by The Habituated Buddhist, which can be found here.

I love it!  I have heard people tell me before, “If you’re not happy with what you have, you won’t be happy with what you get.”  I am always striving for something more physically.  Whether it is a new tattoo, the latest technology, a girl I am pursuing, or that new job, I essentially put all my eggs in one basket.  I think to myself that if this one thing would just go MY WAY, I would be happy!

I agree that it is desire and attachment.  I can be attached to getting a new job without even doing a job hunt or interviewing.  I make up stories in my head, positive and negative, and am often dis-eased when things do not go according to my plan.

I feel like I am always looking for something more, and I have felt like that since I was a child.  I am learning to take that in a spiritual aspect.  When I feel like spending a lot of money on something I don’t need, I turn to mindfulness as often as I am able to.  I slowly am learning that these things do not truly make me happy!  My mind slips sometimes, and I act impulsively, and I suffer, and I wallow.  But my experience tells me that I ALWAYS come out of it stronger if I choose to.

Tags: acceptance, attachment, desire, eightfold path, suffering