Thoughts along the path . . .
The Annual Fast
I’m midway through
the annual Fast for Baha’is — no food or drink from sunrise to sunset for 19
days, ending with our “new year” on the first day of spring.
Every year I learn
something different from this experience, and this time I am thinking about the
source of my energy in the absence of food or drink.
The rest of the
year, when I need an energy boost I have lots to
choose from. Sometimes even just a glass of water gives me what I need. What I
now realize is that — without eating or drinking —my energy comes through my
attitude. I am learning to be detached and content, allowing those qualities to
be the key to what we might label “spiritual energy” or “happiness.”
What makes a
person happy? Well, some people are happy when they are working; others when
they are relaxing. Some are enriched through music and the arts;
others through family gatherings. Some enjoy museums and galleries; others
thrive best in nature. Some like to be surrounded by people; others seek
solitude. The variations are endless.
At least one
source of happiness that most of us share is being useful and having daily
purpose. Even people not blessed with pleasant jobs can recognize within their
job the opportunity to learn and grow, to strive for excellence, to earn the
material means to support themselves. Of course there
are many other ways we spend our days, but regardless of what we do, our
thoughts can be infused with vigour and we can be energized by them.
Service to others
brings happiness. The service might be on a large or a small scale, alone or
with others, planned or spontaneous. I have found that the more unexpected the
better, since it is such a delight and surprise to others.
Surely love is the
universal source of happiness. Despite the word itself having been romanticized
to the point of sounding trite or even corny, love warms our hearts and guides
our highest deeds. Beyond love for family and friends, it extends to our planet
itself and its creatures. As such it is both animating and motivating.
However and wherever each of us finds our own happiness,
we are drawn to its source, much like a magnetic field. `Abdu'l-Bahá recognized
this tendency in saying: “When a man has found the joy of life in one place, he
returns to that same spot to find more joy. . . . This
shows the internal force and natural instinct which
God has given to man, and the power of vital energy which is born in him.”
We know that there
is a connection between our minds and our bodies. When one of them feels droopy
then so does the other. To a great extent though,
since the mind rules the body, we can willfully overcome this. So I return to the idea of fueling ourselves through our
attitude, with happiness as a source of energy.
I can’t buy
happiness at the local grocery nor find it in a capsule at the pharmacy. But if
I want to, I can create it for myself. And a daily dose is all that is required
to energize me.
==========================
Submitted to Ayr
News by Jaellayna Palmer, March 2018
© Jaellayna Palmer
2018