The Essence of Happiness
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. glamorous['gl？m？r？s] adj.富有魅力的；迷人的
2. cling [kl？？]to 忠實於
3. endeavor[in'dev？] n. 努力，盡力
4. inevitably[in'evit？bli] adv. 不可避免地；必然地
5. charitable['t？？rit？bl] adj. 慈善的；施舍慷慨的；寬容的
6. contribute[k？n'tribju：t] to 促成；有助於
7. permanent['p？：m？n？nt] adj. 永久的，永恒的；永遠的
I live in the land of Disney， Hollywood and year round sun. You may think people in such a glamorous fun filled place are happier than others. If so， you have some mistakes about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is deeper， more abiding emotion.
The way people cling to the belief that a fun filled， pain free life equals happiness actually diminishestheir chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness， then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But in fact， the opposite is true： More times than not， things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result， many people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of tree happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage， raising children， professional achievement， religious commitment， civic or charitablework， and self-improvement.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he’s honest， he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun， adventure， excitement. Marriage has such movement， but they are not its most distinguishing features.