In the last year, I have spent a lot of time trying to discover the source of happiness, or maybe it is the source of unhappiness. Solve one and the other solves itself. I have even put out a ten-post series on the subject.

Many of my other current focuses are indirectly related to this search.

I know that China is not so much in our favor right now, but we have to remember that China has been around as an empire ten time longer than our existence. There are literally thousands of Chinese proverbs that show us how much they have contributed to the world. This is one of them:

When I look back on my life, I like so many others, focus on the “happy” moments.

• I certainly appreciate my regular afternoon naps now. They recharge me and make me happy.
  
• I was an avid fisherman in my early adult life. I still remember those times out on a lake in the early morning just taking in the surrounding scene. It wasn’t important whether I caught a fish or not as I usually released them after the catch. It was more about being in nature that soothed my soul and made me happy.
  
• I have never inherited a fortune, so I can’t vouch for that one. The only time I have inherited anything was a new fishing rod and reel when I was ten-years-old after my grandfather died. That made me happy for quite a while.
  
• The times when I have been the happiest is when I am helping someone ease the troubles in their life. I have been fortunate enough to have that happen on at least three different times. One of those times I later found out that the person I was helping proclaimed that I probably saved his life! Just the statement, whether it was true or not, struck me to my core. We have remained friends for more than a decade now, and that is a big thing for us Aspies. Our “friends” usually come and go regularly.

One of the essential conditions to make the latter happiness happen is that you have to have at least an ounce of empathy. If you are a Christian you have to act like Jesus instead of just sitting back and waiting for him to save you.

If you are a narcissist like you-know-who then the only thing that will make you happy is that others think you are some sort of god, who will fix all their problems.

Finishing up here, there are a myriad of ways to create happiness, but I think most of them are more fake than real. You can’t make happiness happen whenever you want it, it can only happen when you live your life outside yourself. Those are my words of wisdom for you today 😎 Take them with a grain of salt…