One of the most powerful images of contentment and satisfaction is that of a purring cat. When purring a cat appears to be happy and quite content with the experience of the moment. My goal is to learn how to purr and to find such complete satisfaction and contentment in a increasing number of moments in my life. I want to purr in action as well as in relaxation. I yearn to savor the moment and to appreciate the wonder of being the alive on a more consistent basis.
I’ve often noted that people generally make life harder than it needs to be. We seem to foster complications and seek conflict far more often than necessary. We set unattainable goals and forever fret over injustices done to us and things that have gone wrong in our daily lives.
It seems pretty obvious that we are all responsible for our own happiness. It also seems pretty apparent that we are free to look at almost every experience we have in a multitude of ways. It is these choices of perception and perspective which largely decide whether we experience joy and happiness or anger and failure.
The words we choose to describe or frame our experience often create or influence our emotional attitude. My experience of a mountain view is highly affected by whether I choose to describe the peaks as foreboding, awesome, towering, majestic or lofty. These word choices can be very powerful and integral to our experience and whether we look back on the moment with a sense of joy or anxiety.
The words we choose are a part and parcel of almost every thought and experience we have. In the majority of situations we have many options available to us which will color our experience and likewise our general attitude towards the day and ourselves.
Oftentimes we make happiness something out side of ourselves or a goal that we must work to attain. One of my favorite quotes is from a Buddhist monk who reportedly told a pupil that there is no road to enlightenment for your already there. He went on to add that everyone is already enlightened, and all they need to do is uncover it and let it shine. The very seeking of enlightenment prevents one from being enlightened.
Likewise personal contentment and happiness is something already existing in ourself, all we need to do is to cultivate and appreciate it. That is why I’m focusing on learning how to purr more often with life.
There is a difference between uncovering and fabricating joy. Fabricated joy is when we choose words and perceptions that we don’t really believe in an effort to have a positive attitude. This style is often steeped in denial where we say affirmations and positive statements to mask our pessimism and pain. This self-deception and forced optimism is unhealthy and more often than not produces fantasy and not appreciation of real life and experience.
In the next blog I’ll discuss ways in which are society is structured which make it difficult for people to make purring a common experience in their life.
I plan on doing a host of posts on this subject interspersed with other topics designed to have us take a look at how amazing human experience is. Please take the time to look over my lyrics as they too focus on the wonder and versatility of human existence.
Jim Guido