As the New Year is upon us, many of us reflect upon our lives, our successes, our satisfaction, where we have been and likely where we are going.

If life is filled with enormous levels of satisfaction and happiness, then perhaps this article does not apply. However, for most of us, we have barely scratched the surface of what is possible in the world of joyfulness, gratitude, success, and fulfillment. And often this is the case despite genuine, consistent efforts to discover that better quality of life.

Let’s review a few basics. There is no other country in the world more desirable than the US. We have more resources, better highways, great schools, safe communities, and tremendous healthcare compared to most nations. And yet, we see considerable unhappiness and misery.

As a society, we attempt to hide our anxieties and fears through medications, alcohol, and THC use. Alcohol use is common in 70% of the adult population, THC use is rising and likely now over 20% regular consumption, and medications for depression and anxiety are taken by 20% or more, depending upon the statistics you read.

None of this is particularly new information. I simply use this to illustrate that many of us do not have a fulfilled, happy, and utterly satisfying inner experience of life. Because if we did, we simply would not need these substances to alter our inner world.

And these statistics do not touch the world of our children and adolescents, where consumption of all types of........

© The Saratogian