Viewpoint
Happiness Is Waiting for You
by Aras Baskauskas
For the first twenty-odd years of my life, I was a world-class “ladder climber.” At twenty-two years old, I had earned a B.A. in philosophy as well as an M.B.A. from one of the nation’s top business schools. During my race through academia, I was also captain of the University’s Division One basketball team. And when I wasn’t studying or practicing, I was drinking with my buddies. As if the rest of my day wasn’t competitive enough, nights out were contests in their own right, as I would measure myself by the amount of phone numbers I had gathered or women with whom I had made out. I was living a lifestyle that was dependent largely on external validation and I used it to cover up a deeply-rooted lack of self-acceptance. No matter how big the accomplishment or compliment, it was never enough to quell my feelings of inadequacy. I found myself experiencing more and more unhappiness.
It all came to a head when I traveled overseas with my brother to try out for a number of professional basketball teams. The contract offers I had received were well below what I had expected. On an evening in Helsinki, Finland, at the tail end of the trip, my brother and I got into a silly fight and I angrily stormed out of our hotel room to go for a walk. Despite all of my accomplishments and the fact that I was standing on the precipice of realizing my childhood dream of playing professional basketball, I was miserable. Then, by the grace of God, I was struck with the realization that my misery was self-induced. It was there on the streets of Helsinki that my lifestyle changed.
With my M.B.A. in my back pocket, I quit playing basketball, flew home, and dedicated myself to the study of my own happiness. Jobless, I found myself taking yoga classes, sometimes twice a day, reading books on spiritual development, and giving up much of my old lifestyle. I stopped drinking, took a six-month vow of celibacy, became a vegetarian and grew a big beard. Despite the fact that I had no money and was living with my father, I had no complaints. I had changed my way of Being in that I went from worrying about my livelihood to trusting that I was already taken care of. This opened up so much space energetically for me. I moved from living out of “should” and started choosing to pursue those things which I enjoyed.
In a very real sense, I was following my bliss and every corner I turned led to more opportunities for exploring happiness. My journey took me to South Africa, where, with no formal training and just five months of experience, I began teaching yoga. I spent six months sharing what I knew, all the while exploring the southern tip of the continent. Then I returned to the states to continue my studies at Mount Madonna with Baba Hari Dass, a silent yogi who has not spoken since 1952.
Just two weeks after finishing the yoga teacher’s training at Mount Madonna, I was asked to participate on the TV show Survivor. Aware of the morally questionable behavior typically rewarded on that show, I set out to play the game in a manner that meshed with my own moral code. Knowing full well that happiness dwells not in money but rather in ways of Being, I reframed the game and challenged myself to stand in trust and love—with $1 million dangling in my face. Should I stray from that challenge, I asked myself, how quickly would I be able to get back into balance and harmony? The entire game became an opportunity to practice Being.
As fate would have it, I ended up winning Survivor and I took home a sizable check. After the win was announced, I found myself in a depression. I didn’t know what to do with myself and began clutching the winnings, fearful of losing “my” money. I had decided to identify with my bank account and the thought of losing the money meant a loss of self. Fear penetrated me deeply and I stopped trusting that the Universe had my back. During that period of time, I was still meditating and practicing yoga asana, but it wasn’t about what I was doing, it was my way of Being that was creating problems.
It took about a year to pull myself out of this funk, but eventually I made my way back to the Light. Once I began to trust that I was taken care of, my life started to fill with richness and abundance again. But more importantly, I was happy. I was not happy because my business was successful or because my yoga classes were packed. I was happy because I chose to be happy. I let go.
No matter where we find ourselves, no matter how daunting the tasks at hand, we can always tap into joy and love. We can always choose happiness. This is the essence of a yogic lifestyle. It’s not about eating a certain way, growing dreadlocks or burning sage in your home. It has nothing to do with what you are or aren’t doing. It’s all about how you’re Being. For those looking to make a change, focus on letting go and trusting the Universe. This will open up lots of space and energy. When you let go, you will see that happiness is waiting for you. It’s always there. You just have to be aware of it.
You can bring Aras home with you. His new DVD, Yoga for Health and Wellness, is available at www.trpyoga.com or www.amazon.com