The happiness we perceive in this life is never permanent. It fleets and it fools. It is most often dependent on the actions of others. And it always seems to rely on various levels of pleasure and prosperity. The only real and lasting happiness is in the Lord. Seek Him and you will find a deeper contentment. As the great saint says:
"Do not gravitate to the earth. All is corruptible; only the happiness beyond the grave is eternal, unchanging, true, and this happiness depends upon how we spend this life of ours!"
- St. Theophan the Recluse, The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation, translated from the Russian by Fr. Seraphim Rose and the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood (Safford, Arizona: St. Paisius Monastery, 2006), p. 12.