The Challenges of Happy Times

I think everyone enjoys it when things are going well, and we are happy.  Yet happiness also has some challenges when it comes to meditation practice. At least in my experience when I am unhappy meditation is a release. It is a way to sit down and contemplate balance and a mindfulness of being in the now. When I'm happy I'm often lost in little mental movies of all the future delights I'm expecting. Thus when I'm happy it is more of a challenge to make myself sit down and meditate. It is more of a challenge to find the balance in my life. It is harder to put down a happy expectation that it is to let go of an unhappy present. Good times also often mean that one is with friends and loved ones.  When one is in a new love or deeply in love with one's longterm partner, it can be very challenging to find the balance of not being attached to people.  

Yet meditation gives me balance. It also helps me to balance my relationships. Being mindful does not mean that you cannot love people. It also doesn't mean that you are necessarily going to become detached from them. In my experience, however, it does help me to keep a proper balance. This means for me that I do not look to make myself happy through another person.  It also means that it I keep my balance and realize that I am not here to make other people happy. That's their job. Likewise it is not their job to make me happy.  

Meditation helps me step back and evaluate all these feelings and emotions and actions on my part. It also helps me to shut off my thoughts for a bit so that I can regain it counterbalancing focus. Yet I do find that happy times are more challenging in terms of keeping my focus and meditating regularly. I've learned, however, that consistent practice brings me better quality of life, better balance with relationships, greater compassion, and an inner peace.