{"id":27499,"date":"2024-09-13T14:51:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T18:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=27499"},"modified":"2024-09-13T14:51:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T18:51:18","slug":"maybe-youre-already-happy-just-temporarily-confused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/maybe-youre-already-happy-just-temporarily-confused\/","title":{"rendered":"Maybe You’re Already Happy (Just Temporarily Confused)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

[Image: “Just Look a Little Harder,” by John E. Simpson. (Photo shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page<\/a> at <\/em>RAMH.)]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From whiskey river<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Humility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To a visitor who described
himself as a seeker after
Truth the Master said, “If
what you seek is Truth,
there is one thing you must
have above all else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know. An overwhelming
passion for it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No. An unremitting readiness
to admit you may be wrong.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(Anthony de Mello [source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…and<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In the Mushroom Summer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado turns Kyoto in a shower,
mist in the pines so thick the crows delight
(or seem to), winging in obscurity.
The ineffectual panic of a squirrel
who chattered at my passing gave me pause
to watch his Ponderosa come and go—
long needles scratching cloud. I’d summited
but knew it only by the wildflower meadow,
the muted harebells, paintbrush, gentian,
scattered among the locoweed and sage.
Today my grief abated like water soaking
underground, its scar a little path
of twigs and needles winding ahead of me
downhill to the next bend. Today I let
the rain soak through my shirt and was unharmed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(David Mason [source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not from whiskey river<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Positivity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyway, it isn\u2019t forever,\u201d Chris said,
\u201ceventually you\u2019re dead.\u201d And we laughed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, everything is better now. Not us
but implants, blenders, children, heart attacks.
There\u2019s never been a better time to be alive
than when you are. If you are. Black-throated
blue warbler says chewchewchewchewchewww
drawing the last chew out like a sucking drainpipe
to say he has mated and is satisfied. Say what
you will about that. His joy is uncontainable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and yet it has a form, a measure, to make it clear
he\u2019s not upset or feeling anxious. And if he\u2019s bragging,
well, it\u2019s no shame to brag that you\u2019re happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honeybees cavorting on the goldenrod are working
toward a common goal they\u2019ll never see achieved.
They lay down the walls of their cathedral of honeycomb
and will not cope the spire, busy in the present task,
trusting that the work continues. I\u2019d like to write
a children\u2019s book called everybody dies. Upbeat, of
course, and pragmatic. You only got so many
days. Don\u2019t think about death; when you\u2019re
ready, death will think about you. Go out
tonight with your friends, like Chris, who went out
big or not at all. Have a ball. Plan ahead.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(D.A. Powell [source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n[Twoflower said,] \u201cYou see, last night it occurred to me, I thought, well, the thing is, all this traveling and seeing things is fine but there\u2019s also a lot of fun to be had from having been. You know, sticking all your pictures in a book and remembering things.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is?\u201d Rincewind asked.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added the librarian, an orangutan,<\/span> \u201cOook?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, yes. The important thing about having lots of things to remember is that you\u2019ve got to go somewhere afterward where you can remember them, you see? You\u2019ve got to stop. You haven\u2019t really been anywhere until you\u2019ve got back home. I think that\u2019s what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(Terry Pratchett [source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Work of Happiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought of happiness, how it is woven
Out of the silence in the empty house each day
And how it is not sudden and it is not given
But is creation itself like the growth of a tree.
No one has seen it happen, but inside the bark
Another circle is growing in the expanding ring.
No one has heard the root go deeper in the dark,
But the tree is lifted by this inward work
And its plumes shine, and its leaves are glittering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So happiness is woven out of the peace of hours
And strikes its roots deep in the house alone:
The old chest in the corner, cool waxed floors,
White curtains softly and continually blown
As the free air moves quietly about the room;
A shelf of books, a table, and the white-washed wall—
These are the dear familiar gods of home,
And here the work of faith can best be done,
The growing tree is green and musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For what is happiness but growth in peace,
The timeless sense of time when furniture
Has stood a life\u2019s span in a single place,
And as the air moves, so the old dreams stir
The shining leaves of present happiness?
No one has heard thought or listened to a mind,
But where people have lived in inwardness
The air is charged with blessing and does bless;
Windows look out on mountains and the walls are kind.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

(May Sarton [source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Image: “Just Look a Little Harder,” by John E. Simpson. (Photo shared here under a Creative Commons License; for more information, see this page at RAMH.)] From whiskey river: Humility To a visitor who describedhimself as a seeker afterTruth the Master said, “Ifwhat you seek is Truth,there is one thing you musthave above all else.” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federate","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Anthony de Mello. May Sarton, et al.: 'Maybe You\u2019re Already Happy (Just Temporarily Confused)'","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[183,247,1393,4701,250,4878,251,3477],"tags":[142,2233,2348,5974,5975,5977],"class_list":{"0":"post-27499","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-everyday-life","8":"category-ruminations","9":"category-whiskey-river-runningaftermyhat","10":"category-my-photography","11":"category-art","12":"category-fiction","13":"category-poetry-writing_cat","14":"category-fantasy-06_writing","15":"tag-terry-pratchett","16":"tag-anthony-de-mello","17":"tag-may-sarton","18":"tag-david-mason","19":"tag-d-a-powell","20":"tag-bad-news-good-news","21":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/findingthecolor_johnesimpson_med_masked.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-79x","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27499"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27513,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499\/revisions\/27513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}