You Never Need a Change of Scenery

Wealthy. Successful. Fit. Great family unit. A most impressive man sits opposite me.

He says: “So I’ve got this 12-month world trip coming up.”

I ask: “Why are you doing it?”

He says: “Well, you know, things are great, but I don’t like being in one place for too long. I need a change of scenery.”

What does it mean to be looking for a change of scenery? To want to be some place else?

Man rummages frantically through his pill cabinet. He will literally travel the corners of the world to escape his mind.

The desire for anything can only arise if one feels something is currently missing.

Which piece of the puzzle is it this time? This time, man says it must be the environment he resides in. The weather. The people. The food.

Lurking behind the pursuit of every innocent pleasure of life is an elaborate concatenation of lies.

Holidays. Food. Love. Friendship. Success. Man’s mind builds caves for him to hide in. To convince him these are the things he needs to quell his suffering.

It is not that one should try to avoid pleasure. Indeed, the one who renounces possessions, desire, and pleasure is fighting a battle he cannot win. He is trying to kill the Hydra by chopping off its head.

Man was a hedonist, and he was empty. Now, he is a monk, and he is frustrated.

Neither extremes find peace. Neither does the middle. Neither does anything in between.

Because all are chasing solutions — plans of action. All are hiding in the caves. Whether you are a slave to your desires, or try to ignore them, both paths will take you to the same place. A place of suffering.

Only when man truly understands the very root of his desires — the root of his suffering — does he stand a chance of discovering the ultimate: nothing matters.

The man who understands this in his bones frees himself from all suffering. Such a man finds bliss. He experiences the beauty of life that his eyes could not see from the cave.

Man does not need a change of scenery, or anything else.

What he really wants may come only from one place: conquering his mind.