My new best friend: a printer.
I’d like to introduce you to my new best friend.
It’s an Epson WF 3640 printer.
My new best friend. To the left is Froggy, the leather frog that has been in our family since I was 3.
I know, I know, we tend to think that people shouldn’t love material possessions this much. Especially not meditation teachers. But here’s the thing. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying things. Go ahead! Get an iPhone, or a new car, or a pizza, or a new house. No one says that to live a conscious life, you have to be a monk. In fact, Vedic meditation is a technique that is designed for what we call ‘householders’, or people who have jobs, families, relationships… and even iPhones (did I mention I kinda love my iPhone too? It’s rose gold and has a gold sparkly case…).
The difference between enjoying things and needing things is all about fulfillment. Where are we looking for happiness? Are we looking for it in a house, or a new partner, or a bottle of wine, or a new BMW? If so, we’re never going to find it. That’s where material objects get us into trouble: when we think they will complete us. Once we get the degree, the promotion, the car, we may think we feel happy… for a little while… until the next version comes out. Or until we start to feel empty again and can’t figure out why, so we go looking for something else to bring us fulfillment.
I also really really like my new drying rack.
GUESS WHAT? We don’t need to look anywhere for fulfillment! We are fulfillment. Already. It’s inside us. Access that, and we don’t need any of the other stuff. We can desire the other stuff, and enjoy it. But, if anything happens to it, or we aren’t able to get it, or keep it, we know we are going to be ok. We already are ok. Because we are fulfillment.
Ok, so I may be unnaturally obsessed with my printer right now. But despite its awesomeness, I know that it doesn’t complete me. It’s just a thing, and while it makes my life a lot easier, more convenient, and more independent, it doesn’t bring me fulfillment. I’ve already got that. I already am that. We all are, even if we don’t know it yet. It’s not magic, it’s not outside of us. It’s inside us, and it’s already there. How can we find it? For me, it’s meditation. When I meditate, 20 minutes twice a day, I experience that fulfillment, and so much more.
So, stop the search, and look within. Find a way to access the bliss and fulfillment that you already are. It actually is as easy as it sounds, we just have to be willing to see it. The pizza and the promotion (and the iPhone) will still be there, and when we don’t need them to be happy, we can enjoy them even more!