Every day, I witness people leading chaotic lifestyles,

responding like robots to the negative circumstances of

their lives, creating more dissonance and conflict. They

seek solace in the next best thing, person or position they

can find, but always end up frustrated and wondering why

they are not truly happy. It is a conundrum of sorts.

Sadly, it is self-perpetuating. Stress, negativity and

unpleasant reactions to everyday situations only beget more

of the same experiences on a deeper level. This, of

course, creates undue stress on your body, mind and spirit.

Letting the stress of unplanned or unwanted events

influence the way you react to and view the world will

always lead to turmoil. Living with a mind-set of

negativity and fear will blind you to the miraculous flow

of bliss, which is within and around you always.

I spent the better part of twenty years frustrated and

unhappy with my life. Although I accomplished much more

than I could ever have imagined possible, I still lived in

a state of dissatisfaction. One would think being a Navy

SEAL (the elite special warfare unit) would have been the

pinnacle of my life, but I looked upon my military

profession with disdain. Then I was living my childhood

dream, playing guitar in a rock band, but irritability and

aggravation permeated the mood of that environment. Years

later, while running my scuba diving company, a day job

that many people envied, I felt only petulance and

exasperation. I dated many great women from all walks of

life, but all my relationships ended in disaster. I moved

from state to state, career to career and woman to woman,

with no psychological or emotional liberation. I felt lost

and I was suffering. I was wasting this precious life and

something had to change. And one day, it did.

I often hiked to help temporarily alleviate the stress in

my life. Being in the mountains took me to another place

where I could, if only for a short time, escape the turmoil

of my life. Waking up one morning angrier and more

stressed than usual, I decided to forego work and hike a

mountain near my home. As I stomped my way to the top,

each footstep reverberated with anger. Hiking always

helped relieve my anxiety, but I was finding little release

this day. I knew I could not go on living like this. I

had to figure something out, and fast. For almost a

decade, I was unhappy and frustrated with wherever I was

and with whatever I was doing. I knew my own choices had

brought me to where I was, but that only made me feel

worse. I had made the choices, so I must have deserved to

feel that way. Despite my best efforts, I was not where I

thought I would be. My business was extremely

time-consuming and stressful, money always seemed short, my

relationships were disastrous and I felt utterly alone in

the world.

When I reached the summit, I found a quiet place to sit and

think. I looked out and took in the beauty of the

mountains and lakes. The warm summer breeze felt good on

my face, and the many sounds of nature slightly quieted my

mind and eased my tension. Exhausted, I laid back on a

huge boulder to relax. I felt helpless and I prayed for an

answer to come my way. My head was pounding so I closed

my eyes and quickly fell asleep. I woke about forty

minutes later, feeling kind of strange.

As I refocused my vision out over the breathtaking

landscape, everything seemed surreal. It was so quiet,

peaceful and unaffected by the chaotic state of the world.

It was as if my worries and frustration were still

sleeping. For a moment I thought perhaps I was just

dreaming, but I was not. I wondered why life could not be

this peaceful all the time. I took a deep breath and felt

myself expanding into the vastness of the mountains. For

the moment, I was on top of the world. Anything seemed

feasible, and my mind was open to all the amazing

possibilities of what I could do and be. I was elated—in a

pure state of momentary ecstasy. If only it could last.

Quietly relishing the moment, I had what some might call an

epiphany. I realized that all my problems were still

waiting for me at the bottom of this mountain. Nothing had

changed, yet something seemed very different. Why was I so

happy here and now on the top of this mountain, but not

happy at the bottom?

I sat thinking about this for a while, and then something

occurred to me. I had heard it many times before, but never

really grasped the concept. Bliss is a state of mind—a

choice, a simple choice. While sleeping on the mountain, I

had unconsciously connected with the flowing bliss of life.

What if I actively chose to stay in this state as I hiked

down the trail? Would it work, could it work? I decided

to try. I figured if I could mentally bring myself back to

this spot whenever I began to feel stressed or overwhelmed,

I could reconnect with that feeling of bliss.

Before I left the serene summit for the turbid waters of

normal life, I captured the essence of the moment in my

head. I took a mental snapshot of the scenery, the smells,

the sounds, and how I felt at that moment in time—empty of

stress, full of peace. What I did next was the key to my

success; in my mind, I created a Bliss Box—a special gold

box for that moment to exist. In it, I put the embodiment

of everything that helped to create the perfect peace I

felt. I tied up the box with a gold ribbon and placed it

on a storage shelf in my mind. I knew I could count on

opening it later, and in the days that followed I was

thoroughly amazed to find how well my Bliss Box worked.

Sometimes you can’t control the situations you find

yourself in, but you can control your emotions and your

actions. By creating your own Bliss Box, you can find

peace and harmony any time you choose.

It is said that to be human is to suffer, and yes this

world can be a painful, harsh place. But it is the way you

look at things that dictates the circumstances surrounding

your life and the way you perceive the world. Contentment

comes from within, and no amount of searching or material

gain will lead you to blissful living. You and only you

hold the key to happiness—use it often.