We could all use a little Buddha In America

Buddhism taught me how to transform my suffering into peace and joy. 

“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation  .

            It taught me you can never stop becoming a better person, we can never stop learning, and most importantly to never stop loving. Basic principles right?  I feel I have always been a good person and always be aware enough from a young age to know right and wrong. I feel most people in our society know what is right and wrong. But who says what is right and wrong? If your referring to the unwritten rules to our society, or maybe even the written ones, you are following perceptions from a society overwhelmed with moral contradictions. 

So my question is, how could one possibly find happiness in a life with a career that is boring, or unethical. What if you just slave all week just to eat and feed your fam. Face it, we're set-up in America to work our entire life, and to spend 40 hours a week doing something where most likely, you are unable to be creative, move and use your senses, and fully exercise your mind. This should conflict with everyone's human nature. This will make anyone discontent with their life, consciously or not. Us humans aren't meant to be sitting inside all day. This is where I believe I was at, and many others with me. I was conducting a healthy, moral life, being the best person I could; and I truly believe in loving nature and that sympathy and compassion are contagious. But it wasn't enough. I still felt this dissonance with myself all the time. Is this all my life is going to be? School, to work, mixed with a family, then death? Over a third of my life will be dedicated to making money. Not to buy anything I might want, but  simple so I can live and have children. And that's all I will have. Let me be frank and say most of us won't be celebrities, much less me missed by more than close friends and family. This was concerning to me, I needed to leave my mark on this earth. I wanted to DO big things, help tons of people, own my own businesses, travel the world,  and make sure I did something else but grow up in a small town and die in a different one.  

Buddhism taught me the only way to make your current situation happy is not to look to stop suffering and a temporary way out. No persons, no materials, nor money can bring you happiness. These items only bring emotions that will temporarily arise. I would use money, to buy happiness, and go buy something or go get a drink to feel happy, or maybe avoid homework and go hang with friends, and it felt great. It's sooo easy to keep putting these responsibilities constantly secondary to pleasure. By living this way for personal enjoyment I felt I was living a pretty stress free life, or at least I thought I was. Only yourself knows which seeds to water. In living in your right view you are content with any emotion that arises, you are happy when you are happy and something else when your something else.  By acknowledging emotions are effecting you, and acknowledging the cause of this emotion you are transferring the suffering into contentment. 

Not until this point have I ever truly minimized suffering. Buddhism has reminded me I am going in the right direction, and I honestly thought to myself years ago, their no way I can ever be more content and more happy than I am right now, being care free with this crazy lifestyle. But I look back at that an literally laugh at myself, that wasn't happiness, that was't joy and peace, far from it.

Now I am consciously judgement free. I may not have the money, and the friends that I thought would make me happy, but now I am more detached from the being happy and creating happiness than I ever was. This Buddhism unit has thankfully reinforced my opinions and I surely am relieved. Words are simply manifestations of our perceptions. I believe more than most in the interdependence of everyone and everything. Buddhism has reminded me to continue to have patience, I am a believer that if I keep living this way, detached from these materials, and continue to respect my relationships, continue to nurture the most righteous seeds from within. I am confident I will find the ultimate peace and contentment in my life by simply stop trying to force it.  I can't wait for that moment that I realize that that is what my life was all about, and I just smile.

Buddhism taught me to be happy is to be free, to be free is to be detached, and detachment starts with enlightenment and compassion, and that in itself, is a life goal that I will feel good working towards forever.