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How to Live in the World and Still be Happy – by Hugh Prather

Condensed by Anuj Goel Nov. 2008Page 1 of 20

LIFE

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Make your only goal in life to be a decent human being.How to make lifeeasier on other people?We confuse and tire even our own children; weburden our friends and family.I intend to use the days left to try to erase thedark footsteps (needless hurts to friends/family) with little light (love).The onlyreal issue is HAPPINESS. If we are making others happy we are right. That isso by truly adding to their peace. The only one stand to take is peace- firmlybeing it and consistently extending it.

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Decide what kind of person we want to be, before the day decides for us.Planthe first thoughts that arise in the stillness of the morning awakening.We candecide before lying down to sleep what our waking purpose will be.You never notice the part your mind plays in your activities.And since you did not notice,your life wandered aimlessly and went nowhere.The day happens to us andits only meaning is in whether we like or dislike what has just occurred. Wespend most of our life waiting.

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Our actual responsibility is to cut back to the point where we can do a fewthings with grace.It is the overall volume of busynessthat we wish to turndown so that our mind will have time to hear its own joy. Cutting back iscertainly not all there is to nurturing happiness.Yet like clearing weeds andpreparing soil, it’s a critical first step.

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The means of unhappiness are the accumulation and retention of a past. Onereason that young children are so noticeably happy and have such impossibleenergy is that they drag very little past with them.There is no such thing as‘idle worry’. Worries don’t idle; they grind. Fear presses upon the body as wellas on the mind.

How to Live in the World and Still be Happy – by Hugh Prather

Condensed by Anuj Goel Nov. 2008Page 2 of 20

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Many programs (and ads) on TV appeal strongly to the ego (justified anger,acquisitiveness, fantasies of revenge, physical special ness, tragedy); mosttelevision fare can be agitating on an unconscious level as is probably not thebest way to get back to sleep or even to ‘unwind’ before going to bed. TVtends to set a wrong life purpose as well as very subtly stir up the body. For most people, there are happier alternatives.

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In our culture any activity that does not lead to money is looked down upon.The prevailing attitude is that unless there is the possibility of monetary gainat the end, our time is being poorly spent.

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A person’s means of earning a living reveals only the most superficial andinsignificant information about what he or she is, yet the issue of career hasbecome a source of great unhappiness.We are NOT WHAT we do; we arehow we do it.

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We have such silly ideas of what is important work!Fore.g. what more far-reaching activity could there be than devoting oneself to helpinga child be happy and unafraid and develop into a decent, kindadult? How many people will this one child touch within a lifetime? Is seeing tothis young person’s happiness really less significant than composing music,designing websites….being socially in demand or living up to your earningpotential?Instead of doing what we know how to do (which often is the work we can domost peacefully) we assume that the higher pursuit is to enter a new fieldaltogether, especially one that fits the current definition of “meaningful” work.

How to Live in the World and Still be Happy – by Hugh Prather

Condensed by Anuj Goel Nov. 2008Page 3 of 20

JOBS & DECISIONS

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After just a few moments of considering alternatives, the mind becomesscattered and inefficient. The reason for this is that there is no end of things toconsider. We act in the face of our conflicts. A decision made in conflictproduces conflicted results, thereby adding to our mental chaos; whereas adecision arrived at in a gentle and restful state of mind doesn’t disrupt our core of happiness.

Once you develop the habit of deciding all things with your quietness, your life – including relationships, health and finances – will begin to smooth out and simplify.

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To make good decisions we must train ourselves to focus on our state of mindrather than on the unanswered question. As long as our attention is on thequestion, our mind remains unfit to choose in the interest of happiness. This isnot “harmless”, because our experience is a continuous outpouring of our mental environment.

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When our mind is focused on a question, it is not focused on the answer. The answer is our state of mind. When our mind becomes pre- occupied with a question, it gets noisy and scattered. Since the mind is our source of quiet knowing, our function is to keep it quiet.

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A sense of comfort about the people with whom you would be working is oftena reliable form of inner knowing (as to whether you should give a particular joba try). It is not a feeling of excitement about your prospective good fortune.Nor is it even a liking of the people or the facilities. You merely find that youare comfortable with the thought of taking this job. It is an adequate job for now.Once it is developed, it is a valuable sensitivity that can gently guide youto other things besides employment – where you wish to do your banking, buyyour groceries & gas, etc.

If where we place ourselves over and over again is disturbing, it’s unlikely that the overall happiness of our life will remain unaffected.