February 19, 2023 by Brian Weiner No CommentsChanging The World One Thought At A Time., Lessons From The Mountain

Don’t wait for things to get better. Life will always be complicated. Learn to be happy right now, otherwise, you’ll run out of time.

Tomorrow… everything will be considerably more simple.

Or will it?

We are regularly deluding ourselves to believe that the days ahead will be considerably less complicated, and much more relaxed than that which we are currently living. In some cases, perhaps this may be true (for awhile) but in most cases, it is a delusion we sell ourselves, such that we are more willing (and capable) of solving the immediate issues at hand.

My personal experience has lead me to believe that no matter how much I opt to reduce complexities in my life, the more I seem willing (and able) to add more complexities to replace those that I have solved or neutralized.

In my case, this may well be a personality trait. I will own that. But I do see this in others as well, and when I read this aphorism this morning, the truth of that perspective was not lost on me.

Happiness, in its best occurrences, is transient at best. We may live feeling an overall sense of happiness, and that is, in and of itself, a wonderful way to be living life. But the peak happiness moments come and go in random moments, each providing a burst of joy that slowly disburses into the norm, leaving a regular frame of mind in-between.

Perhaps it would be wiser to allow ourselves an opportunity to view all of our circumstances with gratitude and appreciation. While this may come off as enlightened tripe, I would postulate that in these perspectives lies the true key to happiness at large.

Understanding that the really happy moments come and go with a host of variables, frees us up to then recognize that if the rest of the gaps between them are to be best-lived, then a portion of that success formula must be found within our perceptual reality. In our unique perspectives, we are able to package up the chasms between the very happy moments and understand them for the positives and negatives that come with the territory. With that perspective, we are then able to surf the negative moments more readily, knowing fully well that the happier moments are around the corner.

If that skillset seems directly opposite to the aphorism about which I write, consider that in one situation, you are weathering the tough times, always selling yourself a rosy future, whereas in the postulated perspective, you realize that life is island hopping from moments of happiness to another. The moments in-between need to be viewed as equally valuable, and finding the unique joy in the moments in-between is the true secret to living a more rich life, across the spectrum of options at our disposal.

Find joy in everything. The rest will flow naturally.

Happy Sunday!

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Written by Brian Weiner

When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!