Morning Muse 353 : Beyond the Web of Maya
Maya refers to the constantly changing and measurable aspects of life such as possessions, status, time, and external achievements, which can never provide lasting fulfilment. True joy, love, consciousness, and inner peace cannot be measured and belong to a deeper reality beyond the temporary world. Real stability and freedom come when we stop chasing happiness outside ourselves and connect with the unchanging stillness and awareness within.
6/20/20261 min read
A child once ran joyfully across a field trying to catch a rainbow resting on the horizon. No matter how far he ran, the rainbow always seemed a little farther away.
Exhausted, he sat down quietly beside a lake. In that stillness, he suddenly noticed the beauty of the rainbow reflected all around him.
Life often unfolds in a similar way.
In ancient wisdom, the word Maya refers to that which can be measured, possessed, or constantly changes. Time, distance, success, wealth, appearance, status, all belong to the world of Maya because they are temporary and ever-shifting.
Yet there are things in life that cannot truly be measured: love, joy, peace, consciousness, and the silent experience of being alive. These belong to a deeper reality beyond the changing surface of life.
Much of human suffering comes from becoming lost in Maya, endlessly chasing happiness through possessions, recognition, or external achievements, believing fulfilment lies somewhere outside ourselves. But often, the moment we possess what we desired, the excitement fades and the mind begins searching again.
A wise sage once said,
“The problem is not that the world changes, the problem is that we seek permanent happiness in changing things.”
Real stability arises when we connect with something within us that remains unchanged despite life’s ups and downs, an inner stillness, awareness, or quiet contentment.
This does not mean rejecting the world. It means enjoying life without becoming imprisoned by it.
Like the calm depth beneath the waves of the ocean, there is a part of us untouched by success or failure, praise or criticism, gain or loss. When we rest in that awareness, life becomes lighter and more joyful.
Then happiness is no longer something we chase. It naturally begins to flow through us.
Reflection
Everything around us changes with time, but the deepest truths of life, love, awareness, and inner peace, cannot be measured or possessed.
Perhaps true freedom begins when we stop chasing the rainbow and start discovering the stillness within.