Want Joy in Life? Stop Being So Serious!

The path to Freedom can sometimes seem like a never-ending battle. Even when we think we are getting somewhere, something is still missing. Almost but not quite was my story, as I tried harder and harder to free myself of the past. Just when I thought I let that go… there it is again. It is the fire of commitment that keeps us going no matter what. We intuitively know that peace and joy is our natural way to be… so what is missing?
The sooner we discover how to not take things so seriously, the faster the Joy of Unity unfolds.
Is there any value in what we take seriously on the path? Does it contribute anything to our lives or the lives of those around us?
This “serious” habit had been so strong in my life that I took it with me wherever I went. It makes sense that I did the same with my spiritual quest. Often trying and effort is common, even in silent meditation. No matter how many times we try to go inward and “be still”, we can still be in our own way.
The Silence of our true nature works in the opposite direction. It is effortless and never takes a single thing serious. We can see this fact for ourselves by exploring what does not change in our experience. This is easy to see since the infinite already sees like this. It allows everything to change and move yet it remains free from it all, including our own seriousness. Isn’t that funny?
By exploring the stillness, a solid foundation of Joyful freedom turns life into an easy dance. It does not get rid of the problems and challenges we face but allows for a beautiful new attitude to flourish. This makes all the difference in how we relate with both our inner and outer world as it unfolds in sweet simplicity.
The theme of my life has always been anxiety. I took this seriously because I wanted to get rid of it. To the degree I could allow, take a deep breath and relax into the unknown, just that much more peace would show up in my life. Now that same energy that I struggled to get rid of can be seen with innocence. Innocence is key. Seeing in this way frees up that same energy for a new creative expression. It was always like this, I simply could not see it.
The bottom line is that not taking things seriously equals freedom. The Path takes commitment but not seriousness. This is the way of the Joyful Buddha. If enlightenment was serious, who would want it anyways?
As we play in the infinite, we can finally discover how to laugh at the root of our problem. There is only one thing in the universe in the way and all we have to do is laugh at it. We take ourselves too seriously. Since what we truly are doesn’t, why should we?