The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-05-02
What Is Happiness?
By BEATRICE FAIRFAX.

| Life wastes itself while we are
 preparing to live" said great sage We all clutter our lives with triftes | which have charmed us through our
 senses, and because there is such a l confusion of odds>an ends in our
 house of life we can't find room for | the big things when they come. Nor
 can we even bring the trif1es into or | der so We can see which are of use | to us and which just-take up room. : We look around when we first come
 to a consciousness of ourselves and l the world.
 1 Let see-how are folks conduct 1 ing themselves? ?" we say.
 Then promptly we begin trying to | be som ething which seems to make 1 for success or popularity or happiness. But no more than the fat woman can | wear what becomes her slim sister, | can any of us disregard our own per sonaIity type and imitate some one l else.
 We pretend to be like some one whose personality seems to register. 1 We strive to do things as some one
 who is success does Ehem. | Forget to Pose. ! Neither imitation nor pretense has
 a foundation of truth. We may for
 get our pose. We are likely to burst | out into a moment of honesty that ! defeats a long period of play act | ing.
 | Nothing is worth while that is not ] true. No one can be happy except 1 through self-expression. Happiness | depends on finding out what we are, then in developing our own poten- | tialfies up to 6heir finest and strong 1 est realization.
 After we've taken stock of our selves. the next thing 50 be cons:d- cred is our present ~loca.ion-envir- onment If it is thoroughly con genial and helpful. then We owe it a debt of gratitude and must not fail
 of apprecdation and obligation If it's all wrcEg-what then? Sometimes the faEi- is ours when our environment seems agonizingly uncongenial. Sometimes there is a Lnet of circumstances which we owe it to our own development to break
 desire through a background that is
 all wrong is the one spur ambition
 needs.
 But to. be happy we must under
 stand our own environment. and just
 what it will do to help or hinder If
 it is all wrong. then we must get out of it.. If f- can be improved. we
 must do the square thing about help ing and if we ourselves are all wrong -the cure is simple.
 When we have been calmly critical
 in our study of "self" and its back ground. we must find the work we are work we must pour our. best in terms Of ability, energy. effort and ambi- tion. We mustn't think that joy comes of diversion and of gayety. We must realize that pleasure has to be earned and can only be earned in terms of work well dopeN
 Then Ready for Love.
 And after we have not only found ourselves but realized ourselves through work. then we are ready for love. But love cannot be big and real and vital except as 1t comes to big personality which understands it. self. It's needs and its ideals. Love has to be :rue-St has to bc . part of the heart and n part of the spirit but it must also suit tho critical brain.
 The lure Of beauty may dizzy our aanses for a tin,e. But unless there is sonnethinr thaf soie our minds, that Its with ossr ambitions that -,~s hand Tn hand with our longfnss and aspiraGfors-the beloved won't heip U. to tutfimont.
 Happiness les :n scif-anaiysia. In understandins and in a creative work 'rg out of aeif And whom we have begun to reaiire what we are and whnr we long to do. then we are fit to judge who it in we want to go hand in hand with us up our path to the stars.