For a child, happiness has a magical quality. I remember making hide-outs in newly cut hay, playing cops and robbers in the woods, getting a speaking part in the school play. For adults, happiness is complicated. As far as I am concerned, happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It"s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from loving and being loved, the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, even good health.
While happiness may be more complex for us, the solution is the same as ever. Happiness isn"t about what happens to us; it"s about how we perceive what happens to us. It"s the knack of finding a positive for every negative, and viewing a set-back as a challenge. It"s not wishing for what we don"t have, but enjoying what we do possess.