friend to happiness

The Buddha asked, “Are you afraid of this happiness?” I allude to this question here in the Blog every once in a while as it has a way of inviting itself into my head. My head, a disguised place Zen would call heart-mind. The Buddha’s question I can answer directly this morning — “No. I’m not.” Though I couldn’t always answer that way.

I talked about this question last weekend with some folks, in relatively practical terms, yet here now it feels a little different. A question of honoring — a vow to honor this me. This jewel palace (me); this moonlight on a still childhood pond (me); this 10 billion years old (me); this friend to wandering coyotes (me); this brother of gathering butterflies (me); this trans sister of yellow hibiscus (me).

What if this honoring myself is being just this me right here now with no brakes? No filters. This cause, this effect. This, this, this, this, and this. What if losing all the brakes is my well-worn, always been there, ancient path to happiness?

More and more and more I have become friendly with happiness, noticed and shoo’d away every righteous fear of happiness, simply by acting out. Like that dude in The Who’s “Quadrophenia” – “Out of my brain on the train.” Just not enough to attract the attention of many authorities. So far.

The Buddha also simply held up a flower once, before his vast assembly of followers, and didn’t say a word. Now that makes me happy.