To Be Happy Is to Be Free

One of my favorite mantras or Sanskrit chants is OM MANI PADME HUM.

Sanksrit is really a language of emotions and feeling so it doesn't always translate easily. In English these words roughly translate to, "May all beings be happy and may all beings be free."

To be truly happy means you are free from suffering. We often think of suffering solely as something that happens under the hands of other people. And while that might be the case for some, for many of us, our worst suffering comes from what we do to ourselves.

We are our own worst critics. We judge ourselves so harshly. We wonder why we aren't doing better. Why things often seem so hard for ourselves. Why others appear to have it easier than we do. Why other families seem to be happier. Why others have more friends, more money, more success. In other words....MORE!

But true freedom and therefore true happiness comes by being at peace with who you are and where you are. Not one of us has a perfect life. We all struggle at some point, at some place.

If your life was perfect, what would be the point of being here? There would be no growth.

Remember, there is nothing permanent in this world. So wherever you are, know that this too shall pass. Find the joy in where you are, enjoy the journey and help unlock the freedom of your soul.