Ruminations on the key to happiness

After reading some remarks from a friend of mine, I started to wonder if there is
such a thing as a key to happiness. In her remark she stated that success was
certainly not such a key. But I think that is not quite accurate.

According to the dictionary, success is "The achievement of something desired,
planned, or attempted". So, in order for something to be a success, it must be
desired, planned or attempted. All those verbs denote intention, and as such,
they require will. Hence, success is not possible without a mind which sees it
as such.

On the other hand, to acomplish a goal may or may not lead to happiness. It
completely depends on the goal and the mind that wishes that goal. For instance,
those who want to harm others, can succeed and then feel remorse and sadness
for their actions. As can be seen, success is not necessarily the path to happiness.

Now, you don't need to be happy to be able to succeed. You can succeed
whether you're happy or not. However, if you're happy, you can succeed in an
easier way in some situations. Consequently, happiness can be the key to success but it
not necessarily is.

We can then say: "Success is not necessarily the key to happiness, but happiness
can be the key to success."

Quoting Paramananda, "Happiness is a state of mind,
not something that can be taken from others or from the outside world".
If you are to find a key to happiness, then start by looking inside
yourself: There you may find it.

Which goals do you pursue? May be happiness is in the path
rather than in the achievement of a goal . . . then try to succeed in your
goals and always have enough goals and enough paths to have fun forever.

Christian Faith shows Love as the possible path to salvation. Does love lead
to happiness? We all know that it is not always true, at least, in the short
term. However, the promise of salvation states that there is happiness beyond
our human lives. So, if you are Christian, you should trust your faith and
choose a path of Love to guarantee happiness someday. Trully you will.
If you are not Christian you can consider another point of view. Love leads
to suffering many times, but you can be happy at least to find that you are
alive and you know that you are alive because you feel, because you love.
If you love, you manifest your love in many different kinds of creative experiences
that can make you happy, and love and the good things you do in its name
will make you feel good, and feel happy. If you want a key to happiness, you
can find it in Love, love for the living, love for the dead, love for every
single stone, and every single face. Let us love everybody and manifest it in
our lives and our actions.