During the Covid pandemic, I began to order needed items online and have them delivered to my home, so I didn’t have to go out and chance exposure to the virus. But it’s so convenient to order in that I’ve kept the practice up to this day. A lot of parcels come to my home every day.
Each time one comes, for a moment, I feel a flash of excitement: Oh boy, a parcel! Something has come for me! Then I open the parcel and it’s always a letdown: these are just items that I’ve ordered. Yes, they are things I want or need and that are useful. But they don’t bring any fulfillment. Even when the parcel contains something extra special, like a new cellular phone or computer, not even then do I have the anticipated joy.
So, I’ve concluded that those boxes do not and cannot contain what I really want. The reason for this is what I really want is not a thing, nor even the fleeting pleasure that comes from reaching a goal, from eating delicious food, etc. Rather, what I want is complete, unending joy and peace. But where to find that?
According to the Yoga tradition, unending joy, love and power are the nature of the true Self, which is the greatest treasure and the source of life. The great Himalayan sage Swami Rama calls the Self the Center of Consciousness. Finding that Center of Consciousness, identifying with it and abiding in it is the goal of yoga.
So, as I walk the yoga path, when I receive parcels in the mail and feel disappointed upon opening them, I remember that what I truly seek is inside.
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