I
I do not linger over happiness or sorrow;
What happens today only disappears tomorrow.
A moment of happiness is but a fleeting pleasure;
A moment of sorrow will surely follow in equal measure.
The way of the world always shows its true colors;
The soil offers its dirt in order to cultivate exquisite flowers.
II
Happiness and sorrow are but way stations to a greater awakening,
Of a sublime reality beyond the human plane, worthy of partaking.
If we had no experience of pain, how would be appreciate pleasure.
If we had no experience of pleasure, pain would be a futile endeavor.
Pleasure and pain represent two sides of the same coin;
We must understand their purpose, their meaning to enjoin.
III
We cannot drown in pleasure; nor can we drown in a drop.
We cannot give in to our pain as though it will never stop.
Happiness seems a vast ocean we are not yet ready to fathom.
Sorrow seems a towering mountain we cannot hold to ransom.
Each have their own power to draw our sincere devotion;
Each tell their own lie to veil us from higher emotion.
IV
Both the ocean and the mountain are not insurmountable barriers.
They will disappear in a moment like retreating warriors.
The ocean is deep until it reaches the shore,
Then the mighty waves become as nothing, just folklore.
The mountains attempt to inscribe a message in the heavens;
The clouds just pass them by, as if disarming their weapons.
V
The mystery of opposites is truly a disturbing question.
Pleasure and pain alternate randomly with no clear reflection.
In the mirror of the universe they merely appear as one,
Two sides of the same coin losing their shadow in the sun.
What is the good of happiness if it seems borrowed and fleeting?
What is the good of sorrow if it owns us and lasts forever?
VI
If happiness is inner contentment and pain a physical drain,
I’ll take happiness any day over a debilitating pain;
But that doesn’t mean I will fret over their hidden agenda.
Pain builds patient endurance while happiness makes us tender.
Sorrow is a state of feeling that unveils miseries in our earthly life;
Happiness is a state of being that blossoms eternally in the afterlife.
You have said a lot about physical stimuli and the resulting emotion. I believe that pain and happiness are deep down survival skills that we now have the ability with our frontal brains to use in different ways. For example, we can, and some do, find physical pain, something that we should avoid for our own survival's sake, find pleasurable.
When we twist physical signals like this, it inevitably leads to a breakdown of our survival ability. Those that experiment in this way often die early and go through tremendous anguish in the process. Treating our physical signals for what they really are will help make us much happier and healthier.
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When we twist physical signals like this, it inevitably leads to a breakdown of our survival ability. Those that experiment in this way often die early and go through tremendous anguish in the process. Treating our physical signals for what they really are will help make us much happier and healthier.
Ron