The Way Pt. I

As human beings, we have an innate yearning for happiness, love, peace, and fulfillment. In our pursuit of these things, there are many paths which present themselves to us. Religions, philosophies, lifestyles, social media influencers, and self-proclaimed gurus all offer approaches with the promise of fulfilling, at least partially, our most innate desires.

Many of these approaches grant us temporary happiness or a sense of fulfillment that passes all too quickly. We may not even recognized that we are steeped in a philosophy or lifestyle in the pursuit of fulfilling our innate desires. 

We may engage in media and entertainment to an unhealthy degree in the pursuit of happiness or distraction from our worries. Some of us may find ourselves even more deeply entrenched in addictions which offer temporary relief from suffering or worry. This is ultimately in pursuit of something good; happiness, love, peace, and fulfillment are indeed good and worthy pursuits. 

The issue is that we become misguided, and end up searching for these things in places that we cannot find them. 

<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos">Free Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>

For myself, I have spent the last 5 years focused intensely on a philosophy of self-improvement. I have set hundreds of goals, revised my goals, and examined every aspect of my life asking, how can I be better? I have created an idealized version of myself and have spent each day working towards that.

The issue with this approach is that as I move closer to the ideal, I find that there is always more that I have not yet achieved. This leaves me never feeling satisfied, while always trying to do more. 

This is not to say that we should avoid engaging in self-improvement, but rather that it may not bring us what we hope it will. If what we want is lasting happiness, to be filled with love, and at peace within ourselves, then self-improvement alone is not the way.

This leaves me with the question, what is the way? This is a question that every individual must answer for themself. In my next blog post, I will describe what I believe to be the way for myself.