What Happiness Is

When I thought about the times in my life when I was happy, I tend to agree with Thomas Merton. Yes indeed, those happy times represented times when there was balance, order, rhythm and harmony. Maybe I should also add here, that we also experience happiness when we are at peace.

Thomas Merton is a Trappist monk who wrote many books.  I first encountered him when I read his book "The Seven Story Mountain." I love his deep insights about many things. You can read more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

Purify your thoughts

Mahatma Gandhi is so wise. We indeed must aim for "complete harmony of thought and word and dead." If there is no harmony, then we will always be under stress. We will always be unhappy.

The photo is a flower from a decorative bamboo-like plant.

Harmony in autumn

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, the other is spring. I just love the yellow-gold-orange-red colors of autumn. Furthermore, I love the nippy air at this time of the year. This verse from Shelley expresses so well the mood of autumn.

Although we do not have autumn here in the Philippines, the leaves here also turn into the colors of autumn at the end of the summer season. This leaf that I took a photo of, came from a tree in our garden.