In our initial research we found very little scientific work on the nature and causes of happiness but we found a great deal of wisdom articulated by eloquent minds. We don't agree with all of it but it might be worth reading. Here is a sample of what we found:

James Oppenheim: The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; The wise grow it under his feet.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
Colton: There is this difference between happiness and wisdom that he that thinks himself the happiest man really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.
Addison: Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
Fontenelle: A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.
Albert Schweitzer: Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
Benjamin Disraeli: Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
Edward de Bono: Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
HH the Dalai Lama: When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.
HH the Dalai Lama: If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Helen Keller: Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Henry David Thoreau: The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?
Henry David Thoreau: That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.
James M. Barrie: Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.
John Milton: The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.
Mohandas K. Gandhi: Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Pearl S. Buck: Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.

      Happiness, Health, Wisdom and Wealth       Quotations_about_Happiness      Quotes_About_Happiness_1      Quotes_About_Happiness_2     Great_Happiness_Quotes      What_Is_Happiness?      BellaOnline_Quotations      Ordinary_People_Can_Win     Q4U_Happiness_Quotes      Spiritwalk_Quatations      Spoken_Words:_Happiness      Quote_DB:_Happiness      Quotes_about_Happiness!       Happiness       Margie's_Happiness_Page      AttitudeFactor.com      FindHappiness.org      The_Real_Key_to_Happiness      HealthCentral      Happier     The_Key_to_Happiness      More-SelfEsteem.com      The_Secret_of_Happiness      George_Hammond      Pyth_Press       Success_Conciousness      Paul_Iliano       CoachingtoHappiness.com      The_Way_to_Happiness      A_Catholic_View_of_Happiness       An_LDS_View_of_Happiness    Motivation123          The_(Scientific)_Pursuit_of_Happiness      The_Pursuit_of_Happiness      The_Happiest_People    Quilter's_Muse      Nathaniel_Brandon      Yoga_and_Happiness       ClickHappiness       An_Ethical_Infrastructure_for_a_Happier_World       Happiness_That_Lasts     The Eightfold_Path      Happiness:_A_Rational_Emotive_Behavioral_Therapy       Happiness_Central      Five_Keys_to_Happiness      Technology_and_Happiness     Counselor's_Corner-Happiness      An_American_Yearning       Happiness_Quotations