As I thought about what to write for this first entry - I decided on happiness.    I am by nature a very happy person. I wake up smiling most days, and my view of the world is hopeful.  Sometimes it seems that there is so much anger and cynicism and judgment around that we crowd out happiness as a luxury we can no longer afford.  I disagree!  One of my graduate courses has devoted the first half of the semester to studying the nature of happiness and the second half to the nature of evil.  Happiness, in my opinion, can not be limited to one definition.  Here are a few I like:

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month -- get married.
If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else.
-- Chinese proverb

Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves  Helen Keller

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
This definition of happiness by Mahatma Gandhi

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. --Victor Hugo

Until next time - Happiness is worth having and working for! Hope you find some today.