Happiness

I must confess, today's Thought was one of those happy coincidences that just fell into place. Heck, I didn't even find this Thought. Usually when I wake up I look for a new Thought of the Day and I post it on my fraternity's bulletin board. As luck would have it, someone beat me to it today. To be completely honest with you, I have no idea whether this story is actually something that happened. For all I know, the poster could have made it all up.

But I prefer to believe in the goodness of humanity, so we'll roll with this Thought today. Buddha is implying that in order to find happiness, you must remove ego and desire from your life. I can see the merits of this. How many times have you messed something up because your ego prevented you from admitting that you were wrong? I know I've been there. But is finding happiness really this easy?

Each and every one of us has a unique take on happiness. We all find joy and happiness is something different. One of my greatest sources of happiness has been teaching. Something about seeing a student understand an idea and apply that idea to their own life just gets me every time. For me, teaching isn't an isolated event that happens only in the confines of a classroom. For me, teaching is a way of life. And by extension, the happiness wrought from that teaching is a way of life. You see, teaching is one of the most selfless acts out there. It's not about you, it's about the students. It doesn't matter what recognition you want. It's going to come down to what the students want. With that, desire and ego is gone. All that is left is happiness. What does it mean to live out happiness in your life?