Unconditioned Happiness

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." 

~ John Lennon

Typically we are happy when things are going well and unhappy when they aren't. Usually, "going well" means we are getting what we want, the way we want it.

That's conditioned happiness. Unconditioned happiness is an intrinsic sense of well being that is not based on the way things are around us. 

Unconditioned happiness has a deep quality of satisfaction while conditioned happiness is more on the surface, more like a flaming fire as opposed to one that is generating deep warmth without the flames.

When happiness relies on external conditions it is limited. Unhappiness is caused by wanting things to be different from the way they can be. Based on this wanting we run after things, pushing others out of the way to get them, or we get possessive and in our attempt to protect what is ours we are willing to cause harm to others or isolate ourselves.

Happiness comes from living a life in which one makes the effort to do no harm and to do positive things as much as possible. Positive things are things that help others.

I wish you true happiness!


Source: 2011 Pitagorsky Consulting