In this chapter we are going to discuss the fact that happiness depends NOT on things around us BUT on our attitude!

I recently read of J. Paul Getty's brother. He lived in Africa, worked with the natives, was happily married for many years, and had children and grandchildren. Every Christmas he sent his brother a card which he signed something to the effect "to the man who has everything, but has nothing."

What did the richest man in the world have?

• Money - yes
• fame - yes
• Children - yes
• many wives - yes
• It seems he had everything. But do you really think he was happy?

How many times have you bought a new dress, a suit, or whatever after seeing an ad saying that to be happy you should buy this or that? Or possibly you have taken a trip to some great place thinking that it would MAKE you happy! Did you find that using the articles or going on the trip made you really happy? No, of course not, and what a shock!

We live in a modern society that is very prosperous. One of the reasons that it is so prosperous is that from the cradle to the grave we are told in this society what we must do to be happy. This is done through advertising such as to be happy you must: ... use certain diapers for your baby and he will be happy!

• ... send your children to certain schools, and they will be happy!
• ... buy certain toys, and the child will be happy!
• ... dress a certain way to be happy and to impress others!
• ... smoke a certain brand of cigarettes and you will be happy!
• ... buy a new car every year and you will be happy!
• ... eat certain foods and you will be happy!
• ... join the "in" group of people and they will make you happy!

I could go on and on, but I am sure you now get the idea. To succeed in this country you have to be told what to do! We are not allowed to think for ourselves anymore! We dare not be different. We have all been told what we need to do to achieve happiness in this great country of ours. BUT haven't we really been sold short? I say YES, we have been sold short on life. If you feel God meant it to be this way, then why are so many people today on pills and going to psychiatrists? Why are there so many escape (from life) artists turning to alcohol and drugs? Why don't people care about each other?

OR did God give us all we needed within ourselves to be happy ...

Does HAPPINESS come from our inner self OR is it something outside ourselves?

STOP . . . and think, meditate on the above until you realize what the author means in this chapter thus far for you.

Do you realize that the greatest happiness is found in the simple things, the free things of life? What about a baby's smile? What about a letter from a friend? What about simply caring for each other? What about a sunny day? A bird singing? A walk in the woods? . . . Yes true happiness is FREE and found in the simple things of life!

True happiness doesn't depend on a full pocketbook. That may add to your happiness. BUT the real wealth is from a rich heart and a mind full of rich thoughts.

Therefore a rich man can be miserable and a money - poor man can be immensely RICH! No wonder the younger generation is changing its guidelines. They are turning from society's guidelines back to nature! Maybe, just maybe, they are smarter than the older generation.

Please STOP now and ponder each of the following questions and see how they may fit you.

1. Do you think happiness is a state of mind? . . . WHY?

2. What can I do to change my mind for me?

3. Can anyone else change my mind for me?

4. When should I start this change?

We need to learn to live, love, and enjoy life NOW and when we live in the now we will be happy now!

You know that this is your life, and it is your responsibility to do with it, as you desire. We know that since you grew the carrots, you realize that what you are today is a product of what you thought yesterday. I realize that many people do not wish to accept that statement, however we really have NO choice. You had control over those carrots, and they did exactly as you told them to do, didn't they? If they were a product of what you thought, you certainly are the product of your thoughts. I realize that is quite a statement, however it is true. But if you want to go on through life and blame others for your problems, that is fine. Apparently you aren't ready for this great new life that can be yours NOW.

But you know that you have a choice why not go ahead and accept that new life NOW. LIVE LIFE NOW! Man has been tied down by things so long, no wonder he has forgotten how to live.

STOP ... Now here is another exercise for you to do right now. I want you to go into a park, beach, woods, desert, or just your backyard and look at nature. Get on your hands and knees and look at the ground! Yes, get very close to it and look at nature, and enjoy what it has to offer. Look into the grass very closely until you see some beauty. Then start daydreaming, think back to when you were a child playing in nature! Remember????

Now that you are back (and I do hope that you took time to do the above - this is your life, and all I can do is give you guidelines, you have to do the exercises) wasn't that quite a trip! Did you realize that nature is happy? Did you find it that way? As you left man's world and entered nature's, did you really find any way to improve it? Could you make better grass, or rocks, or flowers? There is peace of mind and harmony in nature, when you really let yourself get into it. BUT it is really a shocker, to get away from all those THINGS that MAKE you happy and find the simple things with real harmony.

Stop and think on the above. Do you now realize that things really do not give you the happiness that you thought they would?

What is happiness? Doesn't it really consist of being perfectly happy with what we have, as well as what we do not have? Therefore happiness is

Socrates once said that he went to the market and saw what he really didn't need and why. He actually talked himself out of things, mainly because he knew that he was happy and that they would not make him happy! Can you imagine man today doing that, going shopping and deciding why we don't need all that stuff? Do you really need all the things you have now?

In conclusion, we now should realize that things do NOT make us happy, but that happiness is a state of mind, and that is all the more reason for learning how to use your mind to your advantage, to reprogram yourself.