Synopsis "The Happiness: A Memorable Guide for Living a Happy Life (in English)"
This book is dedicated to all of the bad things in life that has ever happened, are happening now, and are guaranteed to happen. Without them, choosing happiness would not be an option.This book has always been about using the word “Happiness”. As an acronym, this word is perfect for what this whole journey is about. It still needed a catchy title.Meanwhile...I was sitting on a picnic table in the shade of a bristlecone pine tree. Naturally drying in the warm mountain air after soaking for an hour in a riverside hot spring. Staring at the snow-capped peaks that fed the river and listening to the silence. It was a perfect blue sky Sunday summer afternoon. Our new puppy woke up at my feet after her long nap and slowly rolled back and forth on her back in the cool grass. She was half-conscious, with no fear, no regrets, and with no immediate plans for the future. I thought, “Is this puppy happy?” No. She was way more than happy. She was in heaven. So was I, because of that hot spring, summer day, drying in the shade, puppy thing.My brother's words came to me next, when I told him that I was writing a book about happiness. “Happiness is a myth!” he proclaimed. His quick reaction confirmed that happiness is an elusive thing. That “thing” is a compilation of experiences, summed up and tallied many times daily, to the last moments of a lifetime.So happiness is a thing. A noun. The HAPPINESS. Happiness is all in caps because it's an acronym and device for remembering how to live a happy life.Now to reveal a few myths about happiness before we unravel the truth. Myth #1: You need to be happy to survive.A Nazi concentration camp survivor (Viktor Frankl) wrote a book and started a movement about the meaning of life. One of his conclusions is that it is not necessary for anyone’s survival to be happy. The “meaning” or the purpose of one's life is the most important. Three years in a concentration camp makes him an undisputed expert. Myth #2: You deserve to be happy.The United States Declaration of Independence states that we have the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Pursue at your leisure, but do not stand on a soapbox and demand happiness.Myth #3: Happiness is pure bliss.Pure bliss is somewhere between a life long orgasm and a timeless out of body experience that may include a shade tree and a puppy, but that's not happiness. Happiness is a long term form of contentment. There will be ups and downs, but the baseline is your own level of happiness.The Suggested Goal of this Guide1) You decide to be a happy person. 2) Identify the good and the bad in your life and then make positive changes.3) Use the word “HAPPINESS” as a memory device.Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 – 322 BC wrote; “Happiness depends on ourselves.” Now, onto our journey.
