·Timothy·
Whatisthedefinitionof“happiness?”Isitmaterialwealthfilledwithfancycars，adreamhouse，extravagantfursandjewelry?Orishappinesssimplyhavingaroofoveryourhead?Foodinthefridge?Havingachild?Apet?Aswimmingpool?AdesignerGuccibag?Parents?Grandchildren?Love?Money?Theperfectjob?WinningtheLottery?
AccordingtotheAmericanHeritageDictionary，“happiness”isderivedfromtheMiddleEnglishwordhap—meaning“Luck.”Butdoeshappinessreallyhaveanythingtodowith“luck?”Basedonthisdescription，onecouldassumethatifyouavoidedafataltrafficaccidentbutgotfiredbycominglatetowork，youwouldbefilledwith“happiness?”Isitluckorwhatyoumakeofit?Maybe，“happiness”isexactlydefinedbyitsindirectalias:happiness—perhaps，happinessisinfactdefinedbythefortunethatwepermittohappen.
Doyourecallatime—let’ssaywhenyouwereabout5yearsold—whatdefinedhappinessbackthen?WasitgettingapuppyforChristmas?Ormaybe，youwereachildofdivorce；andallyouwantedwasforMomandDadtogetbacktogetheragain?Thenasyougotolder，youwerehopingthatsomeonewouldaskyoutothepromthatwould’vemadeyourday，maybeyourlifeforthemoment.Duringcollege，goodgradesmadeyouhappy，butitwasshort-lived.Becauseintherealworld，youhadtolookforajob，andcompetitionwasstark.It’sanemployer’sworldyouthought.Butthen，yougottheperfectjob—nowyoucouldbehappy—orcouldyou?
Liferequiresmorethanjustwhatwewant.Inevitably，onemustunderstandtotrulyfind“happiness，”hemustmakehisownhappiness“happen”.Soundsabitredundant，buttruthfully，thereisnosetguidelinesthatwillbringonehappiness.Thereisno“magicwand”wecanwavetobringjoyintoourlives.Humannaturethrivesonthethrillofthechase.Wedreamandwehopeforthenextbigbreak—itisthegrandadventureofliving.