“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.”

One of my favorite teachings from beloved Buddhist monk, Thích Nhất Hạnh.

At face value, it appears quite simple. Let go, and you may one day ‘gain’ this world. Clutch too tightly, and it will slip from your hands.

Spiritually, we understand this premise – that it is our longing which causes the greatest of suffering.

I want to be rich. I want to be thin. I want to be successful. But, aren’t we really saying, after all – that we only wish to be happy?

My darlings, it is perhaps one of the greatest ‘failings’ in life to think that we might actually be liberated through our attachments.

But, that’s never the case – now, is it? In fact, our clinging only serves to confuse, to conflict, to confound…with every new thought, there’s another ‘weight’ added to our already over-burdened load.

Have we become so hopelessly conditioned to believe, that true happiness can only exist outside of ourselves? That peace of mind may only be derived from some external condition?

But, we only really lose what we cling to.

You know, I used to think that happiness could only be found within another’s arms. That my joy was a condition of someone else’s approval.

Oh, but how foolish I was in failing to see – that the greatest happiness we might ever know, has been right here within us all along.

And, who in their right mind could ever put a condition on that?