Happiness is a shy bird. If you hunt it, it'll fly from you. It is better to set a trap for it, and look the other way. Pleasure-hunters miss it. They are restless, discontented people, who, having no inward happiness, seek it in outward things, where they do not often find it. It is a common mistake to think that money brings happiness. If only I were rich, we sigh. Money is not to be despised; it can do much to make life pleasant. Yet the rich are sometimes unhappy, and some poor men sing.

There are some outward conditions that make for happiness. A man, who suffers from chronic indigestion or a damaged liver, cannot feel very happy. There is much truth in the famous joke Is life worth living? It all depends on the liver. On the whole, good health makes for happiness; and to be happy we should obey the laws of health and keep well.

An idler is rarely a happy man. Most grumblers are lazy people with nothing to occupy their minds and their time. Workers are generally cheerful. A man who has a congenial occupation finds happiness in his work. The necessity of doing it regularly, saves one from a lot of brooding and melancholy thoughts. We should have healthy amusements and hobbies to fill our leisure hours. All work and no play, makes jack a dull boy; and a man who has not learnt how to use his leisure time wisely, will not be happy; games, sports, music, reading, any pleasure and a wholesome occupation we take to, will add much to the pleasure of life.

And pleasant social intercourse is a great source of happiness. Man is a social animal, and few of us can lead entirely solitary lives. True friendship is one of the most precious treasures of life, and blessed is he who has a real friend; but even the pleasant companionship of acquaintances makes for one's happiness.

But the true source of happiness lives within. Happiness depends not so much on our circumstances as on ourselves. The kingdom of happiness, like the kingdom of heaven, is within you. In unselfishness, kindness to others, a clean mind, a clear conscience and an upright life — in these lays the secret of happiness.

The best rule for the employment of our leisure hours is to make as marked a contrast as possible between our amusements and our work; it is a great mistake to ponder over our work when we profess to be amusing ourselves, as is the case of those students who in the course of their solitary walks or in the cricket field, try to sort out intellectual problems. Any one who does this is likely to return to his studies entirely unrefreshed only to find that he has spoiled his play without any benefit for his work. Indeed, it may be said that long walks without any other object than exercise and break from studies, though for better than nothing, are the least beneficial kind of relaxation for a brain worker. The sportsman who goes with his gun in search of game, the botanist looking for plants and ferns, the geologist armed with a hammer, derive more benefits from the time they spend in the open air than the man who simply from sense of duty, compels himself to walk to distant point and back again.

There are so many ways to be happy. Since these days we are all on vacation we can do so much to keep ourselves busy and happy. There is no end of ideas because any creative mind can do anything he wantsê life is short so we must catch that bird called happiness.