Philosophers have been wrestling with the meaning of
happiness for centuries and have really not come to any
agreement. It is easier to tell what happiness is not
than what it is!

Aristotle defined happiness as an "activity of the soul
in accordance with virtue," but it had to be accompanied
by pleasure and provided with sufficient external goods
and fair fortune. Chew on that for awhile!

The great Samuel Johnson (who never used a simple word
when a jawbreaker was available) said, "Happiness
consists in the multiplicity of agreeable
consciousness." (take a breath Samuel)

Happiness, of course, is a by-product of something else.
If you go chasing around, seeking "the bluebird of
happiness," you will not find it. We know that happiness
does not consist of ‘things’ because some of the most
miserable people in the world have everything money can
buy. Nor does happiness come from ‘pleasures’ alone,
because some pleasures leave people feeling far worse
than before.

In fact, there are whole schools of philosophy (the
Stoics, for instance) who believe that the best way to
be happy is to eliminate your desires completely! Then
you can never be disappointed because you aren’t
expecting anything anyway! To me, this isn’t much
different from the "live in hope die in despair"
philosophy!

Psalm 126 is a fervent song of joy. We meet happy people
whose mouths are filled with laughter and singing. They
are rejoicing, and the people around them are rejoicing.

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are
glad!"