Unhappiness

Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9% of what you do is for yourself - and there isn't one. - Wei Wu Wei

I just found this quote this morning and felt such a deep resonance with it I just had to share it here.

Many of you would likely say the opposite would be truer for you, 'It's because I do everything for everybody else that I'm unhappy. I need to look after 'me' instead.' I can understand where that comes from, I've thought it myself. Since doing the work of dismantling the illusion however, I've come to the place where I agree with Wei Wu Wei completely. Even if you want to hang on to the belief that there is really a 'me' there is still something important about the realization that 99.9% of what you do is for you. We love the idea of altruism and being there for others and being unselfish but for the most part we are so caught up in our beliefs and assumptions about ourselves that everything we do ends up being all about reinforcing those beliefs, not about what's true.

You can spend a lifetime doing for others but if you find any place in you where there is the slightest resentment, unhappiness or guilt you will also find that you've been doing more out of the need to feel better about yourself somehow than for all the lofty ideals you may think are motivating you. That's why people who work in support types of industries burn out so much, no matter how much they do they can't do enough. Enough of what you might ask? Enough to get people or conditions to change the way you want them to. Our agendas are generally not only hidden from others but from ourselves as well but there's no hiding from feelings of disappointment, discouragement, resentment or rage. They're messengers telling us when we've wanted to get something from what we've been giving. They're indicators that there were expectations involved that we probably weren't even aware of.

All of this happens because we are generally so busy bouncing off of the layers of belief in unworthiness, inadequacy and unlovableness that we don't even see what we really want and how it isn't likely we'll get it because we believe we can't have it anyway. It's all very circular but there you have it.

If you should happen to get tired of going around in circles at some point what you find then is that none of this is the truth and you really have no idea who and what you are. All the assumptions you've made about yourself and the world start to fall apart and if you go deep enough you find there is no 'me' apart from the concepts and assumptions you've embraced.

But don't take my word for it, you don't need any more beliefs; if you want the truth you need to free yourself from the illusion first.

What do you see, columns or people?