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happiness -
happiness 2 - happiness
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To be without some of the things you want
is
an indispensable part of happiness.
Bertrand Russell
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 |
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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
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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
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Fill the cup of happiness for others, and there
will
be enough overflowing to fill yours to the brim.
Rose Pastor Stokes
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To be able to find joy in another’s joy:
that is the secret of happiness.
George Bernanos |
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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 |
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Exude happiness and you will feel it back a
thousand times.
Joan Lunden |
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Some of us might find happiness if we
would quit
struggling so desperately for it.
William Feather |
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Love, and love alone, is capable
of giving you a
happier life.
Ludwig von Beethoven
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happiness -
happiness 2 - happiness
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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 |
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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
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Happiness depends not on things around us,
but on our attitude.
Alfred A. Montapert
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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 |
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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
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Your happiness or misery depends on your state of mind
and not upon your external conditions or circumstances.
Papa Ramdas
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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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 |
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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 |
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Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others
without getting a few drops on yourself.
George Bernard Shaw |
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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
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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
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Happiness
is found on the familiar highways of life;
contentment is an herb that grows very close to the earth.
Melville Harcourt |
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All
happiness comes from the desire for others to be happy.
All misery comes from the desire for oneself to be happy.
Shantideva
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Happiness is neither within us only, or without us;
it is the union of ourselves with God.
Plutarch
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True happiness flows
from the possession of wisdom and virtue
and not from the possession of external goods.
Aristotle |
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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 |
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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
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happiness -
happiness 2 - happiness
4
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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 |
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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 |
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quotations
- contents
-
welcome
page
-
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the
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-
our
current e-zine
-
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and excerpts
Daily
Meditations, Year One - Year
Two - Year Three
- Year Four
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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