The Courage to Be Happy

“Have the courage to be happy.” Soryu said. Soryu spoke these words at his most recent goodbye ceremony. We held the ceremony out by MAPLE’s pond during the golden hour of evening.

Soryu was leaving soon to participate in a Native American ceremony and then go on a Silicon Valley speaking tour in an attempt to spread MAPLE’s teachings to individuals in positions of power.

Soryu had just finished giving the community a deeply unsettling overview of the state of the planet, explaining how the situation was much worse than he’d realized. However, Soryu explained, we should have courage - the courage to not only face the way things are in the world, but the courage to be truly happy.

There was a moment after his speaking where time slowed. The sunset’s hues of orange and yellow painted across the grass, and reflected off of a still pond. The sky was clear with twilight approaching. Birds still chirped, echoing amongst a gentle breeze and rustling of tree leaves, echoing the words of our head teacher.