The PATH: Awareness, Consistency, and Happiness
sent by J.W. Bertolotti | January 31, 2022
Welcome to The PATH — a weekly reflection with three timeless insights for daily life.
1. Awareness
Is self-awareness needed to live a happy life? The importance of knowing ourselves seems to have existed since the start of human history. The Oracle at Delphi was where Socrates read the inscription — “Know Thyself.” But how does one truly begin to know themselves?
The theologian Thomas Merton wrote in New Seeds of Contemplation,
Everyone is shadowed by an illusory person — a false self. We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves.
Theologians and philosophers tend to agree on this point. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that we are a thing obscure and veiled. “If the hare has seven skins, man can cast from him seventy times seven skins and not be able to say: Here you truly are.”
The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh suggested asking, "Who am I?” If you have enough time and concentration — you may find some surprising answers.
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2. Consistency
In a letter to Lucilius, known today as Consistency, Seneca urged, “philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.” Although there is little debate on the importance of aligning our words with our actions—it is no less challenging to do. Statistics reveal a significant number of people that set new year's resolutions are unsuccessful a couple of weeks into the year.
Seneca stressed to Lucilius,
Let philosophy sink deep into your heart and test your progress not by words but by the strength of mind and the lessening of your desires.
We must adopt once and for all some single rule to live by and make our whole life conform to it. Wisdom is — always wanting the same thing, constantly rejecting the same thing. According to Seneca, “This does not mean the wise person always walks the same steps, but only that he walks a single road.”
When there is no consistency in what we want, our judgment varies daily. Therefore, the first step to living a consistent life is to determine not only where you are headed — but by which path.
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3. Happiness
“There is not anything in this world, perhaps, that is more talked of and less understood than the business of a happy life,” wrote Seneca. What if being happy was easier than we thought? In the classic book Awareness, author Anthony de Mello explained you don’t have to do anything to be happy.
According to de Mello,
Happiness cannot be acquired. Does anybody know why? Because we have it already. How can you acquire what you already have? Then why don’t you experience it? Because you’ve got to drop something. You’ve got to drop illusions… Life is easy, life is delightful. It’s only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings.
Likewise, the writer Leo Tolstoy said, “If you want to be happy, be.” Is happiness that easy? It is hard to read the only reason we’re not happy is due to — our illusions.
What if this is what Lao Tzu meant — “To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” Likewise, both Seneca and Montaigne connected wisdom and happiness. Montaigne wrote, “The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.”
What if becoming wiser and living a happy life are part of the same path?
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful. If so, please consider sharing it with others.
Each week, we send a short reflection with three insights to help you live your highest good. If you are not a subscriber to The PATH you can sign up here to receive it right to your inbox.
Image credit: The Sheltered Path by Claude Monet (1873)
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