Oh, Happiness, you slippery thing!

"One time a disciple complained to his teacher that all the time spent on spiritual work hadn't made him happy.

"Your job right now isn't to be happy," the teacher swiftly replied. "Your job is to become real." Essence is real, and when you capture it, happiness follows because all the qualities of essence follow. Trying to be happy as an end in itself is limited; you will be fortunate just to meet your ego's requirements for a happy life. If instead you devote yourself to a total shift in awareness, happiness arrives as a gift freely bestowed by consciousness."

-from Deepak Chopra's "The Book of Secrets"