In my long and bumpy life, I have found that the period of sweet enjoyment and comfort that makes me most enjoyable and comfortable is not the period that arouses my memories most often and makes me feel the most.
That intoxicating and emotionally evocative moment, no matter how active it may be, but precisely because of its activity, it is only a few bright dots in the long river of life. These bright dots are too few and move too fast to form a lasting state.
The happiness in my mind is by no means a fleeting moment, but an ordinary and lasting state, which has nothing exciting in itself, but the longer it lasts, the more intoxicating it becomes, and thus the ultimate state of perfect happiness is attained.
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There is nothing fixed in the world that can make our hearts forever attached, so all we can enjoy in the world is some fleeting happiness. As for eternal happiness, I doubt that there really ever has been in the world. Even when we are enjoying ourselves, it is rare to have a moment that really makes our hearts say to us, "I want this moment to last forever." So how can we call happiness the fleeting state that makes us restless, empty in our hearts, and suffering from gain and loss?
If there really is such a state in the world: the mind is very full and peaceful, neither nostalgic for the past nor extravagant in the future, allowing the passage of time to cling to the present, no matter how long it lasts, leaving no trace of succession, no sense of lack nor enjoyment, no pleasure nor sorrow, neither asking nor fearing, but only feeling our own existence, this feeling alone is enough to enrich our entire soul; as long as this state continues to exist, people in this state can say that they have attained happiness- Not a crippled, a poor, and relative happiness, but a perfect, full, bliss that leaves the mind without a sense of emptiness and lack.
I've been in this state a lot since I was on the island of Saint Pierre. I lay either in a boat drifting in the wind, or sat by a rough lake, or stood by a beautiful river or a stream where the water rushed through the gravel, alone and meditating.
in Saint Pierre, France
What kind of fun is there in this situation? The pleasure gained in this case is not in anything outside the body, but in ourselves, in our own existence, as long as this state continues to exist, one can satisfy himself as God did. To feel only one's own existence, to the exclusion of all other desires, is in itself a very precious sense of satisfaction and tranquility.
This feeling alone is enough to make one feel precious and lovely for one's existence and know how to eliminate all the carnal and earthly distractions that constantly distract our minds and interfere with our pleasures in the world. However, most people are disturbed by one lust after another, and they can't feel the charm of this state. They only vaguely enter this good state in a rare short moment, so that there is only a vague concept of this state, which is not enough for them to appreciate its beauty.
However, judging from the current objective environment, it is not necessarily a good thing to blindly covet this intoxicating realm, because it will make people tired of social life, and the growing needs of social life require people to assume certain obligations. But a man who has been expelled from human society and who cannot do anything meaningful to man or to himself in this world can find in this state pleasures which neither fate nor anyone can deprive him of, in order to compensate for the loss of human happiness.
Yes, this compensation is not felt by everyone, nor in any case. It must be in a calm state of mind, without any desire to disturb it. Those who enter this realm must have heartfelt feelings, and they also need to have the harmony of the things around them. The mind cannot be absolutely still or overly agitated; the inner activity must be slow and even, neither too fast nor intermittent from time to time. Life without movement is bound to be numb; if the movement is uneven, or if it is too violent, it will wake up in shock.
As long as we are moved by the things around us, we will destroy the good situation of our contemplation, lose our inner balance, and then put on the shackles of fate and the world again, and recall the sufferings of the past. Absolute tranquility will make people feel sad and make people feel that death is coming, so it is necessary to dispel the desolation in the heart with the help of joyful imagination.
Anyone with a God-given imagination must naturally think of many joyful scenes. At this time, inner activity will replace external stimuli, and the relaxed and pleasant imagination will slightly brush the surface of the mind without touching its depths.
The sense of tranquility in the heart, although small, is very sweet, which is enough to make people grasp themselves and forget their suffering. No matter where you are, as long as you can calm down, you can enjoy this kind of contemplation. I often think that even if I am in the Bastille or locked up in a cell with no fingers in sight, I can meditate very happily.
It should be acknowledged that all this must be done on an isolated, wooded island to be more effective. The island is completely isolated from the land due to natural conditions. The scenery of the island is pleasing to the eye and very pleasant; nothing will evoke painful memories of the past.
The relationship with a small number of residents is intimate, but the relationship is not close enough to bother you endlessly. In this way, I can do whatever I want every day without restraint, and there is nothing to worry about; I can be lazy and idle.
Such an environment is very good for a contemplative person who can imagine pleasant sights in the midst of many unpleasant things. He can fantasize as much as he pleases, so that everything that really moves his senses is subject to his arrangement.
When I came back to reality from a long fantasy, I thought that these beautiful views were out of my fantasy when I saw the dense trees and all kinds of flowers and birds around me, and looked at the shores of the lake that surrounded the vast and clear waters.
Until I recover myself step by step and return to the real things around me, I don't know where to draw the dividing line between the illusory scene and the real thing. All of this makes the lonely and peaceful life I lived during my stay on this beautiful island very pleasant. Can't we live this life again? May I be able to live on that lovely island again, spend the rest of my life there, never to leave, and never to see any of the inhabitants of the land again, so as not to remind me of the suffering they have done so much to me over the years!
Although I forgot all of them soon after, they will never forget me. But what does it matter? Because they can't come to the island to bother me.
Freed from the hustle and bustle of social life, the earthly desires that arise. My heart can go beyond the earthly world and commune with the gods of heaven in advance, hoping to soon be one of them. I know perfectly well that there are people who are reluctant to return such a quiet refuge to me, who have already made up their minds not to let me stay on the island. However, they could not forbid me to put wings on my imagination every day, to fly to the island, to experience again for a few hours the pleasures of my former contemplation on the island, as I had lived on the island.
There is one thing I can do better, and that is: I want to fantasize about the island, I want to do whatever I want, and I will think as I like. Since I want to imagine that I am on the island now, how can I still fantasize as I once did? I want to add branches and leaves, to add some wonderful images to the illusory and monotonous dream that can make it come alive.
Once upon a time, it used to evade my eyes when I was fascinated, but now the more I meditate, the more active they become before me; I now feel more in it, happier than I was in it when I was on the island. Unfortunately, as imagination wanes, imagination becomes more difficult and unsustainable.
alas! When a person begins to leave his shell, his shell hinders his imagination.