by Ted Little

Created on: December 15, 2008

The Secret of Happiness is within you. A good man is surrounded by good. A bad man is surrounded by evil. Call it the Law of Reflections, but one thing is sure. What you see around you is nothing but a reflection of your own spirit. But first lets dispense with the illusion that wealth can provide happiness.

Ebenezer Scrooge, while blessed with wealth, was not a happy man. Bob Crochet, was poor, yet blessed with the joy of living.

A Christmas Carol was written in 1843, but its message remains as true today as it was then. The belief that wealth can bestow happiness is nothing more than an easily disproved urban legend. Ebenezer, cold hearted and tight fisted as he was, was left with a hunger that could not be quenched by all his wealth. Deeply embedded in Dickens's tale is a timeless secret. This quest for happiness is denied to those searching in the wrong places. Ultimately, it's not what you have; it's what you are that counts.

Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930) had this to say about the relationship between happiness and wealth. "It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed." Ken's quote while humorous, was consistent with the viewpoints expressed by a majority of Internet contributors. Happiness is a by-product of a human soul at rest with itself. Surely, "Self centered and happy" must belongs to the world of the Oxymoron.

My search for the real secret began a long time ago. Dan Boger and I were on an extended camping trip in Florida. A last adventure we had planned before we both would enlist in the military. We were a month into the trip, and we had seen most of the things to be seen, at least those we could afford.

We each took turns watching the camp while the other went out to explore the local world. It was on one of my excursions that I had my first encounter with the Great Secret. I told Dan when I returned. "Dan, I found a place where everyone is just like me." Dan's response was immediate. "Is that good." was his only reply. "It's paradise Dan." Dan frowned and said, "I think you got the location wrong, but tell me about it."

I told him that less than twenty miles from our camp I had discovered a small circus, and in this circus was an amazing structure called the House of Mirrors. Dan laughed understanding immediately, "And this house of mirrors is where you uncovered this group of people just like you?" "Yep!" Dan laughed and soon forgot the incident. For me it became an icon of understanding in my search for happiness. An Icon I returned to again and again over the years.

Time passed as it always does. The military was behind us. Dan married my next door neighbor and moved to Tampa. I soon had a wife and four kids to feed. The search for happiness was no longer just a petty game but became an obsession with me.

In my memory I returned to the house of mirrors, knowing that the secret lay within.By pieces the secret was opened to me. The world I lived in was like the house of mirrors. The people I saw were reflections of myself. How else would you judge a person except through the template of yourself. If you are a good person, the actions of those around you will be interpreted as good actions. If you are evil, the actions of those around you will be interpreted as evil actions. Being good is it's own reward. The choice is yours.

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