What lies beyond happiness?

The magical energy of flow

Stars Wars: The Force Awakens made me happy. I was happy to see a director at work that has a talent for showing both action and human emotion. I was happy that the screen writers had a command of the English language. I was happy that the preposterous Jar Jar Binks didn’t make an appearance.   My happiness watching the film largely subsided after it was over. It gave me a great ride, but my happiness was a transitory experience based on circumstances. It involved me consuming something that required little from me. Nothing wrong with that, but it got me thinking about today’s blog question. 

When I’m creating art, it is a very different experience than watching a movie.  What is surprising to me is that the creative process does not make me feel “happy.” Instead, my sense of self disappears, an intense concentration deepens my involvement and time stands still. Some may call these indicators "flow," "subspace" or "the zone."  This deep involvement doesn’t require feelings to keep me on track with what I’m doing. I've entered into something larger than myself; a universal consciousness. For reasons I don’t entirely understand, this process begins to positively change the way I think about myself and those around me. Anyone can have similar experiences of "flow" in a wide range of contexts. 

I believe that it takes something deeply involving  to change us. This simply doesn't happen when we are focused more on consuming what's around us vs. engaging with it. What lies beyond happiness? Beyond happiness is a deep connection that brings magic to our world: by making old ways of thinking disappear and replacing them with a level of awareness that is greater than ourselves.  Will we chose to consume or connect today?

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