I just arrived from my office and was surprised to know that no one is at
home.  It was very quiet.  I took the day's newspaper and scanned the
pages.  I sat in my favorite spot and started reading the paper.

Then, suddenly, the deepening silence was broken.  That was when my sister
emerged from her room and was singing to her heart's content.  I looked at
her squarely.  "What happened?" I inquired.

Bewildered, she wondered: "What do you mean?"  (It was the first time I saw
my sister singing out loud and so I was a little bit surprised.) She
pondered and before I can utter some words, she said, "I received a letter
from my boyfriend.  That's why I am very happy."

After hearing her reply, the words of Edward Frederic Benson came into my
mind: "When one is happy there is no time to be fatigued; being happy
engrosses the whole attention."

Everyone wants to be happy.  Daily, we are bombarded with new ways to reach
that magical state.  But some people don't even know what happiness is.
They have some vague notion that happiness is something that will descend
upon them like a gift from the gods if they are "good" or "behave
themselves."  Or, they look to a single goal - in the belief that reaching
it will bring happiness - only to find that when they get there it's the
same old grind.

"The world's literature and folklore are full of stories that point out how
futile it can be to seek happiness," Louis Binstock reminds. "Rather,
happiness is a blessing that comes to you as you go along; a treasure that
you incidentally find."  Joseph Addison adds, "Many persons have a wrong
idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through
self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

Tyron Edwards believes: "Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered in
grains, and enjoyed every day. It will not keep; it cannot be accumulated;
nor have we got to go out of ourselves or into remote places to gather it,
since it has rained down from a Heaven, at our very door."

To be happy is not a right, it is a duty.  John S. Bonnell pointed that
out: "Not only is there a right to be happy, there is a duty to be happy.
So much sadness exists in the world that we are all under obligation to
contribute as much joy as lies within our powers."

Some famous men and women from history have forwarded some ideas how a
person can find happiness. "Remember," Dale Carnegie reminds, "happiness
doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon
what you think."

Carnegie further states: "Many people think that if they were only in some
other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is
doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and
don't put off being happy until some future date."

J.E. Buckrose equates happiness with loving.  He explains, "Happiness comes
more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems
wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and
to love again - this is the brave and happy life."

According to Alan K. Chalmers, a person needs just three things to be truly
happy in this world: "Someone to love, something to do, and something to
hope for."  (The Dalai Lama suggests: "If you want others to be happy,
practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.")

David Hume has the same figure: "Human happiness seems to consist in three
ingredients; action, pleasure and indolence. And though these ingredients
ought to be mixed in different proportions, according to the disposition of
the person, yet no one ingredient can be entirely wanting without
destroying in some measure the relish of the whole composition."

Benjamin Franklin counts only two ways: "There are two ways of being happy:
We must either diminish our wants or augment our means - either may do -
the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to
do that which happens to be easier."

"Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing
whatever you think is worth doing," says Robert Heinlein.  "One man may
find happiness in supporting a wife and children. Another may find it in
robbing banks. Still another may labor mightily for years in pursuing pure
research with no discernible result. Note the individual and subjective
nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them
to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation
in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Contrariwise, if
you are looking for shorter hours and longer vacations and early
retirement, you are in the wrong job. Perhaps you need to take up bank
robbing. Or geeking in a sideshow. Or even politics."

Here's what the late martial arts Bruce Lee said about happiness: "I am
learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I
cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow
myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation.
Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come
to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I
am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the
limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new
discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more
to my bank of fortitude."

Psychologist Albert Ellis, who has been studying happiness for forty years,
found in the many surveys he took that most people are content with their
lot.  Those who aren't, he says, share the belief that the world owes them
a living, and that they shouldn't be expected to feel pain.  When they do,
they blame others or the world in general.  Such people make their own
rules and expect the world to play by them.

Back in 1926, satirist H.L. Mencken quipped, "The only really happy folk
are married women and single men."  But the facts don't bear with him out.
Studies have shown that married people are only slightly happier than
singles, that older people's life experiences - good and bad - contribute
to an overall satisfaction with life, while younger people are still
wrestling with self-doubt.

Og Mandino, the author of 'The Greatest Salesman in the World,' advocates:
"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort
searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember
that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.
Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on
others without getting a few drops on yourself."

Is happiness a state of mind? Sir Roger L'Estrange replies: "It is not the
place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or
miserable."

ooOoo