As I see it there are 2 ways to live a life, happy or sad. I remember when I was a child I was happy, until I was 18. From then until now at nearly 75 I have been sad. That's not to say there weren't some very happy moments, the birth of our daughter, momentary recognition for accomplishments and other things, but overall there was this underlying sadness. Now I see there is another, better way to be. I am working on it and I am not there yet, but being happier than before I can see that I can work toward what I want, being happy. It's not easy to change 57 years of programming in my brain.
Happiness is not being wealthy. When one seeks major wealth it is all consuming and enough is never enough, but it is a driving force and all consuming for many people. When the only thing on one's mind is ever increasing work for ever consuming wealth, family and friends take a back seat to that drive. I know that because I made the mistake of going down that road for too long of a time. I have heard that no one at the end of life ever says, "I wish I had spent more time working for more wealth and power." What they say is, "I wish I had more tome to be with my family and friends."
There is an old James Stewart movie titled "Harvey" and in the movie he says,
Being sad leads to an unhappy life of always comparing oneself to others higher up on the ladder. It leads to overthinking everything and putting hurdles in the path of happiness. Again I know this now because I lived it before.
My road less traveled has been yoga and a lot of meditation. Your road may be painting, drawing, playing a musical instrument or gardening or walking through the woods or fishing. Whatever you pleasure is, follow it.
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