Frustrated Happiness

When we search for happiness in material objects, experiences and relationships, our efforts will inevitably be foiled. The futility of material happiness plays out in four ways – can you think of examples in your life where you have experienced this?

Result of pursing material dreams	Examples
Futility - Didn’t get what you wanted
Insubstantiality - Got it but didn’t satisfy you
Temporality - Satisfied you but didn’t last / got bored
Duality - Satisfied you but came with distress

The pleasure derived from activities in the material sphere never really satisfies the yearning of the soul, forcing us to keep searching and seeking newer experiences.

Now think of spiritual endeavours. Why is it that sometimes one may feel the deficiencies of material happiness within their spiritual endeavours? Have you experienced a time when spiritual happiness was opposite to the above? What may we have to do in our life in order to consistently experience that spiritual happiness?