Kings of the Trail #115
- Luke Jarman
- May 9
- 2 min read
Go Further & Explore More...
"The most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.”
J.D. Salinger
You would think that someone who wrote one of the most famous (and initially quite controversial) novels of all time would be constantly floating on a cloud of happiness. For J.D. Salinger, though, it was more of a burden. He was an intensely private man and shunned publicity to live largely as a recluse and away from the public eye. Earlier in his life, during World War II, he was enlisted in the counter-intelligence service. Whilst serving in Europe he had many dealings with prisoners of war and concentration camps and remained in Germany post-war to help with the Denazification effort. These horrific experiences stayed with him and affected him greatly in his later life. He also dabbled in many different religions and spiritual beliefs, from Zen Buddhism to Kriya Yoga to Dianetics (the forerunner to Scientology), so maybe it should be through this prism that we read his quote. It is frequent in meditation to consider our consciousness like a clear blue sky and our thoughts and emotions - whether good, like joy or bad, like anger - as merely clouds passing across this sky. By framing things in this manner, it helps to let go of the negative and try to embrace, recognise and live in the more positive emotions as much as possible. Hopefully, we can keep our blue sky in a solid state of happiness and free of dark clouds, whilst enjoying brilliant rainbows of joy lighting up our inner consciousness…sounds pretty good to me…
Until next week, be safe and enjoy the trails...
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📸 Trilho Das Vinhas, Cascais, Portugal
Each week, I update the Kings of the Trail playlist with a new selection of music. Like trail runs or hikes, the playlist will be varied and eclectic, but hopefully, there will be something for everyone to enjoy…
I only featured Otis Redding a few weeks ago, but this was the tune that came to me when I was ruminating on J.D. Salinger’s quote. Love and Happiness. What a tune and what things to strive for!
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