Living The Dream, Within A Dream
According to ancient spiritual wisdom, an ever-increasing sense of satisfaction and happiness is the spiritual birthright of each soul, once re-connected to one's spiritual Source.
The fact that we go through the ups and downs of daily life, points to the reality of a disconnect at some point from our spiritual essence and identity - which in it's pure state has an intimate and loving connection to God/Source/Higher Power.
Constitutionally, each soul is allowed eternal free will to choose unity or separation from one's Creator. Those of us choosing so-called separation (although we are never truly disconnected from spirit) have been placed in a universal delusion - a dream-like reality where one's eternal spiritual identity has been covered by subtle elements (mind, intelligence, false ego) plus gross elements of the material body.
As such, we find ourselves encased in a temporary material body that we consider to be the self or "I" and things connected to the body are claimed as "mine" (family, community, party, country, planet, etc.).
Assigned to a realm competing with similarly conditioned souls seeking to be No. 1, happiness becomes a fleeting experience of putting out the fires of distress arising from one's own body and mind, other people's bodies and minds, and the onslaught of material nature in the form of heat, cold, fire, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.
Even if finding some temporary respite in the seeming chaos, eventually death comes along and says, "roll it up buddy, you're outta here."
We may dream of unconditional happiness and love, but along with the birth of one's body, comes eventual death, and usually disease and old age. The illusion of accepting one's body as the self, is very strong, along with the struggle for survival and staving off death, as a concomitant part of life.
We have imposed all of this upon ourselves, being ignorant of our spiritual identity which is now hosted in matter, having chosen separation over union with the Supreme. But its never too late to change.
Bhagavad Gita 2.20 describes:
"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."
How one misidentifies the material body for the self, is under the direction of the Supreme Lord, who is sitting next to individual soul, in the region of heart. This has been described nicely in Sriman Bhagavatam 2nd Canto, 9th Chapter, Text 1 (Translated and commented on by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada).
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer's seeing his own body working.
PURPORT
"Mahārāja Parīkṣit's question as to how a living entity began his material life, although he is apart from the material body and mind, is perfectly answered. The spirit soul is distinct from the material conception of his life, but he is absorbed in such a material conception because of being influenced by the external energy of the Lord, called ātma-māyā. This has already been explained in the First Canto in connection with Vyāsadeva's realization of the Supreme Lord and His external energy. The external energy is controlled by the Lord, and the living entities are controlled by the external energy-by the will of the Lord. Therefore, although the living entity is purely conscious in his pure state, he is subordinate to the will of the Lord in being influenced by the external energy of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) also the same thing is confirmed; the Lord is present within the heart of every living entity, and all the living entity's consciousness and forgetfulness are influenced by the Lord.
Now the next question automatically made will be why the Lord influences the living entity to such consciousness and forgetfulness. The answer is that the Lord clearly wishes that every living entity be in his pure consciousness as a part and parcel of the Lord and thus be engaged in the loving service of the Lord as he is constitutionally made; but because the living entity is partially independent also, he may not be willing to serve the Lord, but may try to become as independent as the Lord is. All the nondevotee living entities are desirous of becoming equally as powerful as the Lord, although they are not fit to become so. The living entities are illusioned by the will of the Lord because they wanted to become like Him. Like a person who thinks of becoming a king without possessing the necessary qualification, when the living entity desires to become the Lord Himself, he is put in a condition of dreaming that he is a king.
A highly recommended approach to re-connect to the Supreme is by repeating the prayer/mantra
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
"My dear Lord, Oh divine energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your loving service"