Unpacking bulging suitcases after a long trip is something that most of us don’t approach with enthusiasm. As you probably know, Jyotish and I recently returned from nearly four months of traveling and sharing throughout Ananda centers in Europe and India. Upon arriving back home at Ananda Village, we were accompanied by our faithful traveling companions: two very large suitcases, two small suitcases, and a duffel bag.

The road to happiness starts by replacing bad habits with good ones. Many people have a tendency to focus primarily on physical habits such as diet and exercise. But since we have a body, mind, and soul, we need to address all three aspects.

Often we live locked up in self-focused goals and desires. Yet, as we depart from this incarnation, goals must be relinquished and desires discarded. Those desires we fail to abandon will inevitably pull us back into another incarnation, and another, and another. The solution is disarmingly simple: Expand our heart’s energy by directing it toward God and the benefit of others.