A Sticker on a Pickup Truck Offers Inspiration for a Life of Joy

A graphic based on a sticker spotted on a pickup truck

As I passed through North Carolina on a 12-hour road trip, I spotted a sticker on the rear window of a pickup truck: Don’t Let the Bad Days Win.

It brought a smile to my lips and joy to my heart. I used to be a “life is hard and then you die” type of person. That changed a couple of years ago, when I began a daily Buddhist practice called The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind. The first thought for reflection is the preciousness of human life.

Spending time every morning appreciating the beauty I see and hear everywhere—in trees, flowers, houses, people, animals, rocks, whatever—changed my attitude almost overnight. I understood I live in a pure land, where, in Buddhist terms, every sight is a mandala and every sound a mantra.

You don’t have to be Buddhist to understand this quotation from Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche:

If we transform our mind, everything we experience is transformed.

I’ll share the following three thoughts that turn the mind in future posts.

In my 80th year of life, what matters is continuing to live in the state of joy I’ve found and helping others find it, too. Check out my Substack blog, From the Pure Land, and my book, The New Middle Way.

— Mel Pine