Acceptance

"Acceptance means the absence of a goal or program." - Thay.  

Living fully means not wanting things to be different in order to be happy.  It means accepting all that is right now without waiting on uncertain conditions to be met.  All of the conditions for our happiness are already present in us, it just takes being calm and aware enough to see them.  Nothing felt more liberating than washing myself clean of all the ideas of what could potentially make me happy.  All of the life plans that fit neatly into societal norms like a prestigious job, a husband, a family, a house, or even alternative plans like having written a book, being ordained as a nun, traveling around the world.  All of these different programs kept me constantly chasing something distant to finally make me happy.  The problem with these programs and goals is that there will always be one more.  When we live for goals we never reach the end.  When one program ends the next begins in a never ending cycle of chase.  Each little drop of dharma has allowed me to let these unmet conditions of happiness wash away revealing my potential for being happy right here and right now.  Look at what you are waiting for to be happy and ask yourself if it is really necessary.  Carry joy and peace within you even when your body, environment, and mind are not everything you want them to be. Let the unmet conditions of happiness that you built up in your mind melt away and take advantage of the happiness present in your life today.  When you are living well in the present all other problems seem to resolve themselves.