There are two words that everyone thinks will make them happy,
But which do the exact opposite.
I want.
It reminds me of the student who went to his spiritual master and said,
I want happiness.
And the master replied,
Get rid of I because that's your ego,
And get rid of want because that's your desire,
And what you're left with is happiness.
For those of you who are new to this channel,
My name is Satpal.
And here at Nanak Nam,
We teach you how to dramatically improve your mental well-being and happiness using a wisdom of oneness called Naam,
Which is taught by the spiritual master Guru Nanak.
If you're anything like me,
Then you have a long list of things that you're waiting for to make you happy.
I call it the if only list.
If only I had more time.
If only I had more money.
If only I got the pay rise that I deserve,
Or if only I moved into the house or had a better relationship.
It seems like we're always waiting for some point in the future in order to be happy.
And by doing this,
We create a habit of always waiting for the next goal to feel happy.
And as soon as we achieve that,
We feel happy for a short amount of time,
And then it fades,
And then we go off to the next goal.
And it feels like this list of I wants never ends.
When we're standing in a queue,
We say,
I want this queue to be shorter.
In a restaurant,
I want the waiter to serve us.
When we're driving home,
I want there to be less traffic.
When you're at work,
You say,
I want the weekend to come sooner.
We say things like,
I want the next holiday.
And it feels like we've created this habit of desires.
And Guru Nanak teaches us that desires are what leads to our suffering.
And have you ever noticed that when you wake up in the morning,
Your mind creates this list of all the things that it wants to do?
And this is how we create this habit.
Now,
The problem with I want is,
As soon as you say it,
What you're really saying is,
I don't have right now.
So I want is a statement of suffering.
And sometimes we confuse our wants with our needs.
We say things like,
I need a partner.
I need that pay rise.
But when we reflect on our own lives,
We realise that there's very little that we actually need and a lot that we want.
Take a moment to think about something that you have in your life right now that a few years ago you were desperate to have.
I want you to think back to those thoughts of how you thought this was going to solve all your problems,
How it was going to give you long lasting happiness.
And then ask yourself,
Did it really bring you the long lasting happiness that you thought it would?
Because that's what our desires are,
An attempt at long lasting happiness by making small changes.
It feels like we're always waiting for someone or something to make our lives feel complete again.
When you say I want,
What you're really saying is,
I'm not OK right now.
I feel empty.
We plant an idea into our subconscious mind that says,
I give my happiness away to something else.
And you'll notice that with all attempts of happiness,
The happiness that it brings never lasts and very soon we feel empty again.
And it feels like we're always chasing these pleasures,
Like we're running away from pain and running towards joy.
And Guru Nanak teaches us this.
The Guru says,
Sukh ko maange sab ko,
Dukh na maange ko.
Everyone begs for pleasure.
No one begs for pain.
Sukh ko dukh agla,
Man mukh bujh na hoy.
But pleasure is followed by pain.
Those who follow the mind cannot understand.
Sukh dukh sam kar jaaniye,
Shabd peyad sukh hoy.
Those who see pain and pleasure as equal are pierced by wisdom and they are at peace.
So,
Does that mean that we can never want anything in life?
Should we have a bland,
Dull life?
Well,
To me,
It's recognizing that the searching and seeking for happiness is really what makes us feel unfulfilled.
And as soon as you realize that,
You can step back and let go of that desire to realize that there is a peace and a bliss right now.
Because if you don't know how to be truly happy right now,
Nothing you buy or gain is going to fill that gap.
So here's a new habit for you to try.
Stop praying and start praising.
Start appreciating this very moment.
Because that's what Naam really means,
Realizing the joy that's available to you right now.
So try this challenge.
Notice how many times in your day your mind is trying to want something more.
Your mind is never satisfied and is trying to improve the situation slightly.
And as soon as you catch yourself,
Let go of that desire and allow yourself to experience the bliss of everything that is there in that moment.
Because happiness doesn't come from wanting or having more.
True happiness comes from taking time to appreciate all that you have right now.
