#happiness

Every man hath a general desire of his own happiness; and likewise a variety of particular affections, passions, and appetites to particular external objects. ↗

— Joseph Butler

#appetites #desire #every #every man #external

The principle we call self-love never seeks anything external for the sake of the thing, but only as a means of happiness or good: particular affections rest in the external things themselves. ↗

— Joseph Butler

#anything #call #external #external things #good

The sum of the whole is plainly this: The nature of man considered in his single capacity, and with respect only to the present world, is adapted and leads him to attain the greatest happiness he can for himself in the present world. ↗

— Joseph Butler

#attain #capacity #considered #greatest #greatest happiness

Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared, then you’re not doing it right. ↗

— Sarah Addison Allen

#risk #risk

The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously. ↗

— Tom Robbins

#unhappiness #universe

...the face has limited space. My mother used to say, if you fill your face with laughing, there will be no more room for crying. ↗

— Rohinton Mistry

#balance

Happiness. It comes on unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really, any early morning talk about it. ↗

— Raymond Carver

#poetry #unexpected

What can I do with my happiness? How can I keep it, conceal it, bury it where I may never lose it? I want to kneel as it falls over me like rain, gather it up with lace and silk, and press it over myself again. ↗

— Anaïs Nin

#fall

All who joy would win Must share it -- Happiness was born a twin. ↗

— George Gordon Byron

#happiness #twin #winning

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities. ↗

— Aldous Huxley

#achievement