The Lord split knowledge up among his subjects about equal. The so-called ignorant is happy. You think he is happy because he knows any better, maybe he is happy because he knows enough to be happy. The smart one knows a lot, that makes him unhappy because he can’t impart it to his friends. Discontent comes in proportion to knowledge. — Will Rogers

Intelligence and being happy I’m sure there is  some correlation but I am not so sure I would agree too much with Will’s assertion that if you are smart you are unhappy because your friends don’t know it?  To me  happiness is a state of mind. We choose to be happy or we don’t. Of course circumstances do affect our happiness but they are only a part of the overall equation.

We can all be happy in our current situations if we choose to be.  I am deaf and if I concentrated only on how that condition restricts my daily personal interactions with people it would make my unhappy indeed. The same can be said for almost any handicap. If you concentrate on what you can’t do as opposed to what you can you will most certainly be unhappy. But if you take the philosophy that these are the cards dealt to me and how I play them determines my happiness then a completely different result will occur.

Happiness is a state of mind. It is not an uncontrollable situation. We can choose to be happy whatever the circumstances or even choose to be unhappy even with all the material luxuries of life.  We hear of so many people who seem to have everything and yet are not happy.  Maybe the linchpin for happiness is being satisfied with what you have and simply enjoying the moment. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t strive to better ourselves. Of course, being satisfied with what you have is very un-American. Our very way of life in our capitalist society depends on our citizens to constantly want more and more. If we quit an ever-increasing consumption then our country suffers, or so they tell us.

But what do I know…