Joy vs Happiness

Happiness is defined as 'a happening of chance, luck, fortune.'

Joy is defined as 'an exultation of the spirit, gladness, delight, the beatitude of heaven or paradise.'

That's quite a difference! Happiness is always short-lived. We are constantly chasing after this experience; we think that we should be happy -- after all, isn't the pursuit of happiness guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights? But happiness comes at the whim of fortune. No happiness can be kept permanently.

So ask yourself this question: Do you want happiness, which is luck or fortune? Or do you want joy, which is the beatitude of paradise?

Robert A. Johnson, Ecstasy: Understanding the Psychology of Joy