The Never-Despising Bodhisattva

Ever since I was a kid the idea of capitalism, competition, materialism and a need for for results over the process it takes to get there has always been ingrained in me when describing what makes life good. Working at McDonald's for the rest of my life is ostensibly bad and no true happiness can be gained from that. But, true happiness cannot be gained from the material things you own or the arbitrary goals you or society have set for yourself because the achievements aren't permanent and the joy you get from these things are fleeting. Working at McDonald's can be very menial work but when working mindfully one can see that type of work can be quite enjoyable. According to Thich Nhat Hanh  you should follow the advice of  Never-Despising Bodhisattva and look deep into your consciousness to find happiness in whatever you doing. There is suffering everywhere, but there is also joy in almost any action no matter how menial, mindless, or insignificant it may seem. This became extremely apparent to me after my first trip to Africa and everything was stripped down to basics for a few months. At the village I stayed at Ghana the internet didn't exist and in order to take a shower I had make a twenty minute excursion to a well to draw water from to bring back  to heat up over a stove. The simplest tasks become much more tedious when you don't have western life's convenience's. So I spent a lot of time doing chores, walking(for hours) to places when vehicles weren't readily available and generally doing more with less.  Of course these experiences help me appreciate what I have but it also allowed me to think and reflect on the type life I lead. It helped me not just experience happiness from impermanent material things but from just enjoying life itself.

Happiness shouldn't be based on external circumstances but rather one should look within oneself to be cognizant of themselves and world around them. "If you develop the capacity to be happy in any surroundings, you will be able to share your happiness with others.Otherwise you might think, this is an unhappy situation. I must go somewhere else. And you'll go from place to place wandering like the prodigal son. When you realize your own capacity to be happy anywhere, you can put down roots in the present moment." (Hanh, ch 24) When you live your life in the present and don't worry about the stresses of tomorrow or the mistakes you made in the past you can live your life clearly. No matter how menial a task may seem as long as you do it mindfully you may find more meaning in it than you may think.

Enjoying the simpler things in life.