Everyone wants to be happy and live a meaningful life, yet the way we usually go about it can only bring a very temporary happiness at best and, at worst, leads to extreme dissatisfaction and suffering. By making a slight but radical shift in the way we live our lives, a subtle sense of satisfaction and well-being can be ours even when things really aren’t working out. Most us look for happiness in circumstances and possessions, yet both the worlds great contemplative traditions and modern science tell us that circumstances contribute very little to our sense of contentment. The root of happiness is not to be found in our circumstances but in how we relate to them.
Its true that Buddhism speaks mostly about enlightenment. But without a solid foundation of contentment, basic sanity, and a decent self-image, you cant flourish in life either as a spiritual practitioner or as a practitioner of daily life. Not everyone wants to become a Buddhist, but doesn’t everyone want to be able to flourish and enjoy what life has to offer? We all want to be able to cope, without totally losing it when things don’t work out. And that last point is the heart of what Radical Happiness really is. Its a subtle sense of well-being we can always access, especially when things are not so great.
