From ancient times until today, from America to the Asian Continent, from the North Pole to the South Pole, that ideal which matters most to we humans has always been very similar—to be happy. Our founding fathers knew this well; it is stated explicitly in the Declaration of Independence; we are guaranteed our right to "...the pursuit of Happiness. " The key word here is "pursuit" and we never cease to pursue "that" which makes us happy. Of course, once we obtain "that" which we think will make us happy, then "that" gradually—eventually and inevitably—fades and, soon losing its glitter, no longer has the power to make us happy. So we find yet another "that" to pursue. The result is that our experience of happiness is fleeting and short, and yet our longing and agony over pursuing "that" is grinding and trying. The "that" that is supposed to make us happy now becomes the cause of our misery through our inability to manifest our "that" fast enough.

Recently, I was watching on television the old movie "Quo Vadis" which portrayed the Emperor Nero feeding Christians to the lions. When I was seven years old, I saw this movie in Taiwan. At the time, I had a feeling of sadness over being born in the wrong era. I woefully regretted that I myself could not be fed to the lions, and thereby, get to Heaven faster.

As I watched the movie this time, I asked, "Do you still want to be fed to the lions? " "No." was my first answer. Then I heard another voice echo from within me, "But you are already feeding yourself to the lions of life everyday—one agonizing bit at a time." "Wow," I thought, "that is right." To die in Nero’s Coliseum is the same as living my life one day at a time. Both are states of destiny. All I need to do is to learn to dance graciously in the mouth of life’s lions with joy, contentment, wisdom and hilarious happiness.

Dancing in the Lion’s Mouth

DANCE 1: EXERTING EFFORTLESS EFFORT

Step 1. Happiness is like a shy maiden; the more aggressive you chase her, the faster she runs away. Gentle does it.

Step 2. Happiness is like a fish; in order to entice the fish to take your bait, you have to let loose your line. The more you release the line and show the fish you don’t care about catching him, the closer the fish will come to taking your bait.

Step 3. Happiness is like a good night’s sleep; the more you try to fall asleep, the longer you stay awake. If you try really hard to fall asleep, you may just stay awake for the rest your life.

DANCE 2. THE PASSION OF WORK

Step 1. Work does not need you or me; we need to work.

Step 2. Through work, our destiny unfolds. As Lord Buddha said: "Your work is to discover your work; and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it."

Step 3. Each day reach for your limitless limit; do something you thought you could not do.

Step 4. Use work as your spiritual worship. As Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, "If you perform the sacrifice of doing your duty, you do not have to do anything else. Devoted to duty, man attains perfection."

DANCE 3. THERE IS NO FAILURE, ONLY DIVINE REDIRECTION

Step 1. The "that" which you and I all want—money, position, success, relationship, outrageous sex, recognition, etc.—is, at times, out of tune with the grand blueprint of our intended destiny. The universal force then repeatedly pushes us back to the center of the road, so that we may start over again in the proper direction to better fulfill our personal destiny.

Step 2. Accept disappointment and hurt graciously. Know that nothing happens by accident.

Step 3. Practice indifference to one’s high and low emotions. To reach this state, have a willingness to walk through the dark valley of human emotion and to examine, unabashed, the core of your pain and agony.

Step 4. Avoid suppression of your emotion. Indifference to your pain does not mean suppression. Have the pain, but do not identify it as bad. Dive into the pain, and the pain then becomes less painful.

Step 5. Accept divine timing with a gracious mind and a patient heart. As the Good Book says: "Let Thy Will Be Done."

Step 6. Learn to endure the unendurable. In the end, whether you know it or not, life is a game meant for your enjoyment.

Step 7. Celebrate your broken heart; rejoice and celebrate each time it is shattered. Only when your heart has been split open, can the light of the Divine enter in.

Step 8. Your greatest success is to realize that every moment you are successful. The rest is just accounting.

DANCE 4. SHOULD I OR SHOULDN’T I?

Step 1. Practice living and working with the highest of integrity. The more people can benefit from your work, the higher the integrity of that work.

Step 2. As Sun Tzu, the greatest Chinese strategist has written in his book, The Art of War: "Before one wages war, one must first examine whether their cause is in line with the Tao. If your cause is against the Tao, defeat is certain." Tao is translated as "integrity" or "righteousness."

Step 3. Ask yourself truthfully, "Should I or shouldn’t I?" before you pursue "that"which you think will make you happy. Anything that is against the righteousness and integrity of the universal goodness will bring you only misery in the long run.

THE FINALE

The fear of not being happy, of not getting "that," can be guaranteed to make you and me hopelessly miserable. Don’t take the pursuit of happiness too seriously. In time, you will learn to not care whether you are or are not happy. Then magically, before you know it, you find that you are actually experiencing happiness.

Live well, act well, do the right thing in good times and in bad. You need not pursue joy; instead, if you faithfully practice these techniques, your happiness will indeed pursue you. You will then come to see that state of consciousness in which the joy in your heart will become uncontainable; like a dam ready to burst. In my most sincere honesty, I tell you that such happiness of the heart is available to everyone when they practice dancing in the lion’s mouth.

Chin-Ning Chu, is a speaker and best-selling author of The Bridge to the Pacific Century The Bridge to the Pacific Century, Thick Face, Black Heart: The Warrior Philosophy For Conquering The Challenges of Business And Life, Do Less, Achieve More: Discover the Hidden Powers of Giving In and The Working Woman's Art of War. For more information, visit http://www.bigspeak.com/chin-ning-chu.html, call 805-965-1400 or e-mail info@BigSpeak.com.