SEARCHING FOR HAPPINESS: the seed of virtue

"Searching for happiness prevents us from ever finding it."
                                                                                            Pema Chodron


Well, isn't that a bummer?
Aren't we all supposed to pursue positivity until our noses bleed and our tear ducts are dry?
(I'm being facetious here...apologies to the Positivists...)


I believe the point is this: we have what is referred to as "the seed of virtue" already planted inside us.
It's truly already there. What is necessary is to relax into that belief. To stay alert and water this seed with mindfulness, with lovingkindness. To breathe it into growth.


"Let yourself fall apart into wakefulness."
                                                               Pema Chodron


You can't really force a seed to sprout.
But you can keep it warm and moist. You can nurture its appearance above the earthline.
In the same way that you don't go through life digging up seeds to see if anything is going to pop up, you don't spend your life pursuing this virtue in hopes of achieving something--including happiness.
Stay open. Awake. Become soft as spring ground.


This is the third of the Five Strengths for learning about life and death.


Namaste.