Happiness is very important to each of us as is attested to by our Declaration of Independence which declares that we are endowed with the unalienable right for the pursuit of happiness. Aw, but perhaps therein lies the rub, as we aren't guaranteed happiness, but within our psyche is a restless and innate desire for happiness. Many people spend their entire lives not really knowing how to pursue happiness or what happiness really is, but they know that they want to be happy, and so they pursue happiness, chasing it in one way or another, in one form or another, through the shadows, for their entire lives, with varying degrees of success.
The thing about happiness, true happiness, is that happiness and satisfaction is not the same thing. That is to say, when you have a wonderful meal or something that delights the sense feelings within your body, it will be perfect for a moment, delightful, but invariably those feelings of benevolence, of gratification, will fade away, leaving you essentially back to where you were a few minutes ago, or a few hours ago, and once again in pursuit of that same feeling. This would imply strongly that the path of happiness cannot be through the satisfaction of your bodily urges, because if that were true, it would be akin to being on an endless merry-go-round, to which there is no satisfying escape.
Then there are others that believe that true happiness comes from owning or having the use of various things, including money and its equivalents. While money has its place and its value, it too won't bring lasting happiness, because the satiation that money and what money brings can never be truly satisfied as there will always be one more thing, one more item, or something just lacking, that must be fulfilled or pursued. The pursuit of this material satisfaction won't necessarily lead to unhappiness but at the same time it won't bring you the fulfillment of true happiness.
Happiness can be found only by doing the right thing, no matter your circumstances or your situation. Each day we are given myriad choices and paths that we can engage upon, and doing the things that are right, will bring the most satisfaction to your soul and your inner being. How do we know that this is true? We know this, because when we reflect upon the days and times when we felt the most happy, they are invariably the times when we know that we did the right thing, and not necessarily the easy thing, or the most expedient one. We did these things because we intuitively recognized that far from this being a world of unconnected people at constant war with one another, we are at our core all created by the same Creator and our soul is restless and unsatisfied, until it aligns correctly with the Master of it all, and that can only come about by performing in a way that attests to that Higher Truth.
While each of us is entitled to pursue happiness as he or she best sees fit, one will find, that each good deed builds upon another, and brick by brick, step by step, happiness come to each of us as we do right, as God gives us the light to see what is right, and through the diligent following of that light, we will find that true happiness rests in the palm of Him who is righteousness himself and total blissfulness.