At a certain point in our lives we come to the realization about the true nature of worldly pursuits. They cannot keep us happy for very long. No matter how many times we get what we want, it will never satisfy our desires or completely extinguish our boredom. This unsatisfactory nature of things is what the Buddha called “suffering.”
The sooner that we realize the truth of suffering the sooner we can start to escape from it. But the way out is not in running away or trying to avoid it. That had been its cause all this time. Every time we try to escape by running away we just tighten the grip of the tangled mass of suffering we are stuck in.
If we could be free of the knots binding us to our desires and fears it would not get tighter with every movement. We will know that we are free when we can enjoy the wide open space of the present moment without worry or doubt about the future and without lamenting the past. Even if we are not all the way there, we might after only a short time of meditation practice, be able to see the possibility of freedom.
Walking on the path to this kind of happiness means changing our priorities. We have to re-orient our lives towards mindfulness training so that we are pointing in the right direction. Just like a boat or plane in the vast ocean or the sky, we need to ensure that we are on the right course. If we can ensure that, then all we need to do is keep moving in that same direction and we will reach our destination.