What is Happiness

Book excerpt: Why are so many people frustrated with life so much of the time? While there are times we experience moments of true joy, true love, true happiness, why don't they last? Why are they the exception rather than the rule? Unlike wealth, happiness cannot be inherited. We have all heard the well-worn axiom, "Money can't buy you happiness". If it could, only the wealthy would be happy, and this we certainly know is not true. Throughout the journey of this book, we will explore common sense reasons why so many other books on finding happiness do not work. You read them, and for a day or so they help, but soon after you have forgotten their quotes and exercises and find yourself in even deeper despair. While we cannot always cause events outside ourselves to come together to produce the right circumstances for continuous happiness, we can attempt change the way we react to them. Only this creates a deep and emotional foundation on which this book is based.