The soul, on the other hand, simply wants to BE. The soul wants to experience life to the fullest, with great passion and intensity. With peace of mind. That means letting life happen instead of planning, organizing, measuring, comparing. That means waking up every morning resplendent in the knowledge that one doesn't know where life will lead today but that is just perfectly alright.

Now the mind is not totally unaware of the soul's needs. He knows that something is required by the soul although he cannot quite grasp what that might be. So the mind has placed upon this unknown requirement, this "x" factor of the soul, the label (for the simple reason that the mind must have a label for everything) of "happiness."

But what, pray tell, is happiness?

Oh, dear. That does present a problem. Now the mind has to figure out where this happiness is to be found. What activity, what accomplishment, what endeavor will provide this illusive happiness? One by one the mind identifies things that he is certain will bring happiness and fulfillment. He sets out to find the holy grail. Yet every grail he claims turns out to be imitation pewter with something green growing in the bottom of it.

This is the war we wage within us. This dichotomy between the mind and the soul is our battlefield, ladies and gentlemen. It is our Vietnam, our Korea, our War to End all Wars.

Look not outwardly. Look not to the world when seeking sustenance for the soul. Happiness is to be found in knowing oneself, in understanding one's mission, and in giving of oneself to others. Genuinely giving of oneself. Being there for others. I do not speak of giving to the poor, or serving in soup kitchens, or donating large quantities of cash to a favorite charity. One can do all those things and more, yet still give nothing of themselves.

How does this happen? How can this be?

Would it have anything to do with the mind, perhaps? Is the mind sorting, calculating, exchanging tit for tat, tallying, validating, justifying? Is he preparing charts and graphs and matrices?

The mind can only think in tangibles. Among these many tangibles is the idea of "happiness." The mind conceives a vision of happiness and projects it upon an object, or a goal, or a lifestyle. He convinces himself that fulfillment will be found when these objectives are met. Happiness, at last, will be within his grasp. Yet the mind always discovers a hollow victory at the end of that rainbow. There is no pot of gold. There is only the dragon's breath, the morning mist that hangs upon the meadow where the rainbow ends. The dragon's breath swirls at one's feet, obscuring the many hues that were so prominent from afar.

What happened to that pot of gold, anyway? And where did all the beautiful colors go?

Know thyself. Know thyself. Look inside, not outside. Look to your self for the answers. Explore your deepest motivations. Learn the depths of the chasm within you. Define yourself in terms of soul rather than mind, and you won't have to search for happiness. Happiness will be you.

youngblood

Youngblood Brasket is a storyteller who shares her home, with cats Harmony and Bandon, a rabbit, a field mouse and various creatures of the forest on the Texas Gulf Coast. Her varied background includes freelance work in petrochem, the oil patch, trucking, and construction. Youngblood has also tried her hand as a rigger helper, ironworker, demolition technician, roadie for a Rhythm & Blues band, and as a member of the aerospace industry, where she still works today. One of our favorite people, Youngblood Brasket is a Regular Contributor to the Song & Story Street Section of Sunshine Street Sketches.

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