The Happiest Man Alive

"I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive."

-- Henry Miller

How can that be? How can Henry Miller be happy when he has none of what most of us think we need in order to be happy? Maybe the answer can be found in the word "alive."

Henry Miller is alive, fully alive. And he knows it. (Well, he's dead now, but he was alive when he wrote this.) When he was alive, Henry Miller knew that happiness is not based upon having but upon Being. True happiness precedes having, it does not follow it.

Does this mean you cannot be happy if you have money or resources or hopes? I don't think so. It just means that true happiness must be independent of any and all externals. Detachment is a hallmark of happiness. Have alot of money or have no money, no matter. Your financial condition does not affect your happiness. The same goes for everything else that you can name, even for more ephemeral things like "hope."

So, just for today, be unreasonably happy! Put no prerequisites on your happiness. Just be happy.