happiness  - happiness 2 -  happiness 4

To be without some of the things you want
is an indispensable part of happiness.

Bertrand Russell
   

One cannot divine nor forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour, at the world’s end somewhere, and holds fast to the days, as to fortune or fame.

 Willa Cather

      
All real and wholesome enjoyments possible to people have been just as possible to them since first they were made of the earth as they are now; and they are possible to them chiefly in peace.  To watch the corn grow, and the blossoms set; to draw hard breath over plowshare or spade; to read, to think, to love, to hope:  these are the things that make people happy.

John Ruskin
  

It's good to be just plain happy; it's a little better to know that you're happy; but to understand that you're happy and to know why and how. . . and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss.

Henry Miller
   
 Happiness cannot come from without.  It must come from within.  It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other person and then for ourselves.

Helen Keller

   

The happiness which we receive from ourselves is greater than that which we obtain from our surroundings. . . .The world in which a person lives shapes itself chiefly by the way in which he or she looks at it.

Arthur Schopenhauer

  

Speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness
will follow you as your shadow, unshakable.

the Buddha

   

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Who are the happiest people on earth?  A craftsman or artist whistling
over a job well done.  A little child building sand castles.  A mother,
after a busy day, bathing her baby.  A doctor who has finished a difficult
and dangerous operation, and saved a human life.  Happiness lies in
a constructive job well done.  Get your happiness out of your work
or you will never know what happiness is.

Elbert Hubbard
  

I have learned too much of the vanity of human affairs to expect any felicity
from public life.  But I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever
situation I may be.  For I have learned from experience that the greater part
of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our
circumstances.  We carry the seeds with us in our minds wherever we go.

Martha Washington

  

It was probably a mistake to pursue happiness; much better to
create happiness; still better to create happiness for others.  The
more happiness you created for others the more would be yours—a
solid satisfaction that no one could ever take away from you.

Lloyd Douglas
 
Fill the cup of happiness for others, and there will
be enough overflowing to fill yours to the brim.

Rose Pastor Stokes
   

To be able to find joy in another’s joy:  that is the secret of happiness.

George Bernanos
  

The life that is sharing in the interests, the welfare, and the happiness
of others is the one that is continually expanding in beauty
and in power and, therefore, in happiness.

Ralph Waldo Trine
  

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!
  

  
Exude happiness and you will feel it back a thousand times.

Joan Lunden
   

Some of us might find happiness if we
would quit struggling so desperately for it.

William Feather
  

Love, and love alone, is capable of giving you a happier life.

Ludwig von Beethoven

   
happiness  - happiness 2 -  happiness 4
    

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Men and women are rushing hither and thither in the blind search
for happiness, and cannot find it; nor ever will until they recognize
that happiness is already within them and round them, filling the
universe, and that they, in their selfish searching,
are shutting themselves out from it.

James Allen
 

Happiness is a process of radiation, not absorption.  No need
to seek for happiness.  Happiness is within.  Happiness is the
only thing where the more you give, the more you possess.
Pleasure can be bought at a price.  Happiness is priceless.

Fred van Amburgh

  

Happiness depends not on things around us, but on our attitude.

Alfred A. Montapert
  

  

We have been accustomed to thinking that we have to get something
from outside us in order to be happy, but in truth it works the other way:
we must learn to contact our inner source of happiness and satisfaction
and flow it outward to share with others--not because it is virtuous
to do so, but because it really feels good.

Shakti Gawain
 

The ingredients of happiness are so simple that they can be counted on one hand.
First of all, happiness must be shared.  Selfishness is its enemy; to make another
happy is to be happy oneself.  It is quiet, seldom found for long in crowds, most
easily won in moments of solitude and reflection.  It comes from within, and
rests most securely on simple goodness and clear conscience.

William Ogden
  

Your happiness or misery depends on your state of mind
and not upon your external conditions or circumstances.

Papa Ramdas
   

The foundation of happiness is mindfulness.  The basic condition for being happy
is our consciousness of being happy.  If we are not aware that we are happy, we are
not really happy.  When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache
is a wonderful thing.  But when we do not have a toothache, we are still not happy.
A non-toothache is very pleasant.  There are so many things that are enjoyable,
but when we don’t practice mindfulness, we don’t appreciate them.  When we practice
mindfulness, we come to cherish these things and we learn how to protect them.
By taking good care of the present moment, we take good care of the future.
Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

   
I felt once how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine,
a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea.  Nothing else.

Nikos Kazantzakis
  

It's easy to romanticize what we don't know.  It's easy to assume that someone
else must have a greater vision, a nobler purpose than just going to work,
having a family, and living a life.  People are people, and have been throughout
time.  Our problems aren't new or unique.  The secret to happiness is the same
as it has always been.  If you are unhappy with where you are, don't be there.
Yes, you may be here now, you may be learning hard lessons today, but there is
no reason to stay there.  If it hurts to touch the stove, don't touch it.  If you want
to be someplace else, move.  If you want to chase a dream, then do it.  Learn
your lessons where you are, but don't close off your ability to move and to learn
new lessons someplace else.  Are you happy with the path you're on?  If not,
maybe it's time to choose a new one.  There need not be a great mysterious
reason.  Sometimes it's just hot and dry, and the beach is
calling your name.  Be where you want to be.

Melody Beattie

  
 

It is a great obstacle to happiness
to expect too much.

Bernard de Fontenelle

  

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.

Iris Murdoch

  

The genius for happiness is still so rare, is indeed on the whole the rarest genius.
To possess it means to approach life with the humility of a beggar, but to treat it
with the proud generosity of a prince; to bring to its totality the deep understanding
of a great poet and to each of its moments the abandonment and ingenuousness of a child.

Ellen Key

  

  
Happiness is more than the roller coaster highs we experience through
excitement, success, or gain.  We all encounter these moments in our
lives and they bring a delight to be savored and appreciated.  But they
also remind us to discover a deeper happiness that is not dependent
upon such circumstances.  Happiness that is dependent on pleasant
experiences is a fragile happiness which can trigger an inner busyness
that only thirsts for more sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences.

Christina Feldman
  

The road to happiness lies in two simple principles:  find what
interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into
it—every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.

John D. Rockefeller III

  

May we never let the things we can’t have, or don’t have,
or shouldn’t have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we
do have and can have.  As we value our happiness, let us
not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning
to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have.

Richard L. Evans

  
Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others
without getting a few drops on yourself.

 George Bernard Shaw
  

I've been thinking about happiness--how wrong it is ever to expect it
to last or there to be a time of happiness.  It's not that,
it's a moment of happiness.  Almost every day contains
at least one moment of happiness.

May Sarton
   

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy.  From the very core of
our being, we desire contentment.  In my own limited experience I have
found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our
own sense of well-being.  Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others
automatically puts the mind at ease.  It helps remove whatever fears or
insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles
we encounter.  It is the principal source of success in life.  Since we are
not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for
happiness on external development alone.  The key is to develop inner peace.

the Dalai Lama

   

   

Happiness is found on the familiar highways of life;
contentment is an herb that grows very close to the earth.

Melville Harcourt

   

All happiness comes from the desire for others to be happy.
All misery comes from the desire for oneself to be happy.

Shantideva
  

Happiness is neither within us only, or without us;
it is the union of ourselves with God.

Plutarch

   
   
True happiness flows from the possession of wisdom and virtue
and not from the possession of external goods.

Aristotle
   

If we truly desire happiness in our lives, three important guidelines
can be a powerful assistance to remember.  (1) Happiness can be
the cause as well as the effect of bringing more good into our lives.
(2) Happiness increases for us through use, because when we think,
speak, and act with joy, there is little room for anything less in our
lives.  (3) We can cultivate happiness through service to others.

John Marks Templeton
Worldwide Laws of Life

   

Several years ago, a friend of mine lived with me during the final few months of her life.  Not completely understanding the effects of her illness, I kept saying, "Michelle, you must eat.  You're getting too thin!  Eat!"  And after she died, I read in her journal about how "Marianne takes it for granted that if you eat, you gain weight; if you want to go out somewhere, you can; and if you want to live past this year, it's a reasonable proposition."  She was someone who had so little to be happy about, but she taught me so much about happiness.  During those months, right after the birth of my daughter, I would come home to find my dying friend with my baby snuggled next to her.  There was a smile of bliss on both their faces that I will remember all my days.

Marianne Williamson
Everyday Grace

happiness  - happiness 2 -  happiness 4

Her theme was happiness:  what it was; what it was not; where we might
find it, where not; and how, if found, it must be guarded.  Never must
we confound it with pleasure.  Nor think sorrow its exact opposite.

Mary Lavin
   

Some people have a view of self and of the universe that obliges them
to struggle for happiness, to yearn for happiness--"some time in the
future"--perhaps next year or the year after that.  But not now.  Not
at this moment.  Not here.  Here and now is too terrifyingly close, too
terrifyingly immediate.  They suffer from happiness anxiety.

Nathaniel Branden
Self-Esteem Every Day

   
  
Happiness
Edward J. Lavin

Contentment is a balm, satisfaction is a friendly embrace, but happiness
is a warm glow and tingle that arise from the health of both mind and body.

We all want to be happy, yet how many of us can with certainty declare
that we are?  We all have little happinesses that raise us up out of the mire
of our daily struggles.  Perhaps we should be content with these small gifts,
for the quality of perfect happiness is an uncommon state.

This little caution is a warning to those whose life is a perpetual search for
the perfect happiness--a holy grail that requires an immense effort.  It is not
found in a clean bathroom, although the TV commercials want us to think
so.  Nor is it found in money or health or friends or lovers or travel or small
packages.  These may lead to small happinesses, and blessings on them all.

Perfect happiness is a well-regulated hierarchy of spirit, mind, and body.
The order is important, and anything that disturbs that order ruffles the
surface of the lake of happiness.  Unregulated desire, as the Buddha knew
so well, is a heavy stone dropped into the lake; equally disturbing is the
tendency to forget about the spirit and to concentrate exclusively on the
mind or the body.  Perfect happiness is not to be found in the leaps of
aerobic movement nor in the dense concentration of scholarly research.

Yet we must not despair.  Perfect happiness is our birthright--it is
only that we must work at it.

from his book Life Meditations
  

The belief that unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish is misguided.  It's
more selfless to act happy.  It takes energy, generosity, and discipline to be
unfailingly lighthearted, yet everyone takes the happy person for granted.  No one
is careful of his or her feelings or tries to keep his or her spirits high.  That person
 seems self-sufficient; he or she becomes a cushion for others.  And because
happiness seems unforced, that person usually gets no credit.

Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project

  

It is important to be aware of the different levels of happiness.  It depends
upon how many regions of receptivity we have in our system.  It is quite a
legitimate pleasure to be tickled on the surface; it is a deeper satisfaction
and help to be struck or touched in your innermost region.
   I can enjoy strolling along Fifth Avenue and looking at the window displays.
I may be perfectly happy.  I can also be perfectly happy after climbing for hours
to arrive at the peak of a mountain.  Only those who have derived happiness
from both, the climbing and that strolling, know that they are incommensurable
and will, asked to choose, certainly decide for the mountain.

Artur Schnabel

   
There is only one price for real happiness, the satisfaction of holding
one's head up and looking the world in the face.  Happiness must be
purchased with honest personal endeavor, with earnest effort to do
one's share of the world's work.  If we refuse to pay
this price we cannot expect its blessings.

Orison Swett Marden
The Joys of Living
   

       
   

Found online:
 

 
(Found online images come from a variety of unattributed
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not to share!)

   
    

When Walker first steps onto the road, he has no thoughts, no history, no memories, and no clothes. As he travels and meets people and learns from them, he comes to know more about life, living, and becoming the person he's meant to be. Walker is a parable for all of us who wonder what might be the purpose of life, why bad things happen with almost as much regularity as good things, and how we can learn from the bad examples and experiences in our lives as much as we can learn from the good things. Tom Walsh's parable is a story of the ages, a timeless exploration of ideas and thoughts that all of us wonder about, a sincere and heartfelt portrait of a man who has no past and no future, but who learns to make the most of each precious present moment as it comes.