There are those names that immediately spark their magic into our minds. Like:
„Darjeeling!“
Visiting the Queen of the Hills, surrounded by the timeless grandeur of the Himalayas, one begins to understand what „space“ really means.
Driving by the emerald-green tea plantations on the way there, staying at one of those cozy-elegant places with old English flair and discovering the Tibetan aesthetic of the Buddhist temples, where the mystical aura has something solid and powerful at the same time – there you have the whole package.
But, like the „champagne of teas“ has so many scents depending on the harvest, the Darjeeling you visit can also vary. If the weather is clear, you can see all over the hills and further to the snowy peaks of the Kanchendzonga, all of them over 8000 meters tall. When the mist makes itself comfortable all over the place, so should you. It is time to discover the lively streets, sit down and enjoy the vibrant colours of the Mahakal temple or get to know what tea tasting really is about.
As the weather is something you cannot influence, just make the best of it. And whether you are travelling or at home, like the weather, there are things happening that don’t take into consideration what we want.
So grant yourself five minutes and take the Happiness Exam. Rewind the last 24 hours in your mind and watch closely:
Where there any especially „good“ or any annoying moments? What about the so-so ones?
Good, bad, boring, exciting – what made them be this way? Did the conditions behind those moments stay for a while or did they dissolve that very day?
And now that you take a look at it from the perspective of a quiet and peaceful moment: did anything in your view change?
Actually, here is the good news: everything is conditioned, whatever happens to us as well as our reactions to it. Even the memories afterwards.
But the most interesting to it:
The conditional feelings and experiences could not happen without our mind – like on a canvas or screen which reflects everything.
And that is the most wonderful thing: what we are is that canvas, limitless like the space and thus indestructible.
It is time to enjoy and choose the movies ourselves.
The Happiness Exam is inspired by the teachings of HH the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje.
