There are some things in this world that seem to happen at random. For example, whether it’s going to rain today or tomorrow. There are so many micro causes and effects that determine the weather in the short run that the results appear to us to be random. In reality, all weather would be predictable if we had a super computer that could track the billions of variables.
One way to deal with this huge amount of information is to look at patterns over longer periods of time or to look at large differences in cause. If we were to apply this approach to the weather, we would understand that Canadian winters are always colder than winters in Thailand. The difference between weather in Thailand and weather in Canada is not random at all. Weather in both places is based on their location in relation to the sun.
Similarly, if we take an average over 100 years, winter in Canada is clearly colder than summer in Canada. There is no doubt about this. Over long periods, the trend is obvious and we can see that there is no randomness to it.
If we want to be certain about the results in our lives, we need to firmly understand and accept that these results are not random. I can’t stress this enough. Happiness in life is not based on good luck or misfortune. Happiness over the long term depends solely on our own actions and only on our own actions. Just like the only factor determining warmth in a country on earth is its distance from the sun.
This is good news because it means that we have the capacity to turn suffering into happiness over the medium and long term simply by making better choices.
And it gets better. The first choice we need to make is very clear and that is the choice to bring the mind into the present moment. If we practice mindfulness, either by doing a retreat or by applying it to our daily lives over the long term, we will be happier and that is an absolute 100% guarantee. The reason this is true couldn’t be simpler: if you know what you’re doing, you make fewer mistakes.