On happiness.........................

When Epicurus defined happiness as the supreme good, he warned his disciples that it is hard work to be happy.  Material achievements alone will not satisfy us for long.  Indeed, the blind pursuit of money, fame, and pleasure will only make us miserable.  Epicurus recommended, for example, to eat and drink in moderation, and to curb one's sexual appetites.  In the long run, deep friendship will make us more content than a frenzied orgy.  Epicurus outlined an entire ethic of dos and don'ts to guide people along the treacherous path to happiness.
     Epicurus was apparently on to something.  Being happy doesn't come easy.  Despite out unprecedented achievements in the past few decades, it is far from obvious that contemporary people are significantly more satisfied than their ancestors in bygone years.

-Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus:  A Brief History of Tomorrow