The other day I was talking to my roommate about taxes. I explained how tax deductions “zero you out” but don’t equate to refund money. I shared that if you owe $3,000 in taxes but claim $4,000 in deductions, you’ll simply owe nothing.
Later that afternoon I bought Grand Theft Auto V and killed civilians and made imaginary gangsters very upset.
Then I thought about the dichotomy of happiness. How unhappy people lie on one end and happy people on the other. How placement on the scale isn’t determined by a linear presence of happy, but separate and opposing quantitative forces like “pleased” and “displeased.”
Growing up I was solicited to by atheists and vegans and stay-at-home moms about “the powers of meditation” and for years this horrified me. I thought meditating was a ritual involving barren lands and rubber mats, done only by people who levitate and wear Crocs.
But meditation is none of that. Meditation is focusing on the singular moment, forgoing [temporarily] all worries and concerns. To meditate, then, is to breath and do nothing else.
I began this practice recently, usually in Central Park after a jog. It’s difficult because my mind wanders but the brief moments of yielded clarity are worth it. My life needs clarity.
So while I don’t know what happiness is, I’m sure meditation can help us get there. And even if meditation doesn’t equate to happiness, it will definitely zero you out.