Ben-Shahar surmises, "Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable." Click on the clipped link below to read the excellent article: 'The Happiness Hype'.
On the one hand, those in the West enjoy the highest standard of living ever seen during humankind's existence. On the other hand, according to Harvard psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, "rates of depression [in the US] are ten times higher today than they were in the1960s, and the average age for the onset of depression is fourteen and a half compared to twenty-nine and a half in 1960." "If we are so wealthy, why aren't we happy?" Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger. It is worth striving to get the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you get these relationships right, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge.
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