Everyone says, "I just want to be happy."

So did I. In this world of angst and anger and struggle to survive, sometimes I just wanted to sit down at the end of the day, chase it all away, and figure out the secret to eternal happiness.Now I'm giving up that thought. I'm not satisfied just to be one of those yellow smiling emojis. I want to cross over the bridge of happiness and find true joy on the other side.After all, 'tis the season, isn't it?According to the website Diffen, there are distinct differences between happiness and joy.I go to a concert. My football team wins a big game. I buy a new car. These things make me happy.My son tells me he loves me. My daughter comes down the stairs in the morning and asks for a hug. My wife misses me when I'm gone all day. These experiences bring me joy.Eating a piece of cake makes me happy. Watching my family eat cake that I baked brings me joy.We can see happy people. They smile. They laugh. There's a jump in their step, an enthusiasm for the moment. Joy, on the other hand, can be invisible to the eye. It's a spiritual contentment, a deep sense of satisfaction, permanent and sustaining.Just because people smile doesn't mean they're happy, and those who have joy aren't always smiling. I once knew a woman who never seemed to wear an emotion on her face, and yet during conversation, I could feel the joy coming from her words. She spoke about her husband, her children and her faith in God. Even during her darkest moments of despair, she said her joy for living never wavered.Scientists are now measuring degrees of happiness, which are highly subjective and individualized. Studies define happiness as a "blurred emotion" because it carries with it so many different reasons. Ironically, the report states that acquiring money, cars and big houses does not affect happiness levels or bring joy to anyone.And yet we do like the things we own. Take rides on our new bicycles and we feel happy. Helping our daughters and sons ride their bikes for the first time makes us joyful.Scientists also have discovered that joyous people spend quality time in nature fishing, hiking, kayaking, skiing and watching sunrises and sunsets. They delight in snowstorms, notice crazy clouds in the skies and gaze up at the night stars. A sensory awareness of the natural world enlivens the spirit and delivers a fresh feeling of inner peace.The Health Psychology Center offers suggestions for attaining joy. The first is to make the choice to smile. I used to think smiling was the result of something good that happens, but now I understand that it's in the nature of joyful people to diffuse anger with perfectly timed smiles to help calm an emotionally tense situation.Another suggestion is to meditate to imagine. Sit in silence. Relax the mind and body. Meditation can lead to creative thinking once the mind frees itself from stress.Feel grateful. Think positive. Returning affection helps, too.So as I walk over the bridge from happiness to joy, I overhear two older guys talking about their last wills and testaments.One says to the other, "I'm leaving my Mercedes to my son, my vacation condo to my daughter, and a half million bucks to my wife. How about you?"The other guy smiles. "I'm leaving my baseball glove to my son, my fishing rod to my daughter and some letters I wrote to my wife.""Not much wealth, huh? The first guy says."Oh, there's so much wealth I can't count it all, my friend," says the other."How so?" The first guy asks."My son will cherish my glove. He'll remember the great times we had playing catch in the backyard. My daughter and I bonded while fishing many times in a beautiful lake under a brilliant sky surrounded by majestic mountains.""And your wife will be happy with just letters?""Not happy, no. Her heart will fill with joy every time she reads one of the love letters I wrote to her on our anniversary for the past 47 years.""Well," says the first guy, "I'm leaving my family things that will make their lives richer and easier."The other guy smiles again and says, "So am I."Rich Strack can be reached at

katehep11@gmail.com.