• About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Leadership
    • ADF: A Druid Fellowship
    • Photos
  • Services
  • Calendar
  • Resources & Social Justice
  • Membership
  • Blogs
    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
    • Rev. Badger's 2019 Stoic Blog
    • The Practical Bard (Rev. Missy's Blog)
    • Little Druid on the Prairie (Rev. Lauren's Blog)
  • Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Leadership
    • ADF: A Druid Fellowship
    • Photos
  • Services
  • Calendar
  • Resources & Social Justice
  • Membership
  • Blogs
    • Prairie Tidings (Church Blog)
    • Rev. Badger's 2019 Stoic Blog
    • The Practical Bard (Rev. Missy's Blog)
    • Little Druid on the Prairie (Rev. Lauren's Blog)
  • Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
Mountain Ancestors Grove, ADF

A Year of Contemplation

The Only Prize (Day 25)

1/25/2019

 
What IS happiness? Like, what are the building blocks of “happiness”? 

Freedom? Self-sufficiency? Liberation from passions? 

Getting what we want? Stuff? 

Well shoot, it can’t be “stuff” or getting what we want… since those things come with some inherent problems: 

Envy. Jealousy. Suspicions toward those who can take from you, and the neurotic need to plot against those who have what you desire. 

Not very happy thoughts and emotions, right? 

But, like everything, we experience the reality of happiness, or lack thereof, through our minds… and treating your mind as the greatest treasure, the greatest prize you could ever have, blesses you with the gift of perspective. 

Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (ZT”L) said, “Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.” (The Real Enjoyment of Living - p. 37)

To do that, we must answer the question: What matters to us? 

What if what mattered to us had no connection to the material world? What would that look like? What does happiness look like when it’s not based on things that can be taken away or lost? 

If we learn to care about things that are either below our financial means, or things that are not connected to finances at all, we can continue to be happy in a way that is, foundationally, strong. 

The more we desire, the more we have to do to acquire those objects of our desire… and what’s left is a “life” we’ve no time to enjoy, and the illusion of the freedom to enjoy that fictitious life. 

Prioritize. 

Be clear about the nature of happiness, and its cost. 

(See y’all tomorrow)

Comments are closed.

    About the Blog

    Awakening the desire to explore Stoicism, and how it relates to his existing beliefs, Rev. William committed to working through the text, The Daily Stoic, a year-long journey to awaken the Stoic mind. 
    How things are structured can be found in the first post. 

    About the Author

    Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove.  He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace. 

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.