The Pursuit of Happiness

When my daughter asked "What will make you happy  Dad?",  I had to stop and think about it.  Ever since I became a father, I have lived for my kids.   I drive 2 hours to a work that pays better.  On the way home, I do groceries.  When I get home, I wash poop and throw the garbage.  I eat the leftovers because I think of those abroad who eat garbage.  And sleep is simply a time to prepare to do it all over again.  


Then there're homeworks and projects, birthdays and holidays, changing seasons that punctuate the routine until it's another year - a time to reset the online banking payment schedule and reorder drugs.  So, what makes me happy?  At that point, I didn't know.  I didn't have any desires for myself because there's neither time nor energy left.


But I realized there are stuff that keeps me from being sad:  the absence of sickness, having a job, receiving Holy Communion, intimacy with my wife,  the laughter  of my kids,  a job well done, my dog jumping at my arrival, new readers of my blog, spraying the roaches dead, friends,  Scotch and  Prime Rib, gardening in the sun, Sashimi and Sake,  losing weight, working out in the company gym ... and so on.  I just enjoyed them without thinking.  I don't intend to organize these in an essay right now;  it's more of a sharing.  But here are some ideas about happiness that I have kept in the back burner.  I hope you realize what makes you happy; then that'll double the pleasure and double the fun.


Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.  Abraham Lincoln


If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.
Chinese Proverb


Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.  Benjamin Disraeli


That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.  Henry David Thoreau