Happiness is like a stone dropped into a pool to set in motion1 an ever-widening circle of ripples2. As Stevenson3 has said, being happy is a duty.
There is no exact definition of the word happiness. Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physical well-being, since we find beggars, patients and so-called failures who are extremely happy.
Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend4. But staying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfish to struggle for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.
Being unhappy is like an infectious5 disease; it causes people to shrink away6 from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserable and embittered7. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous8: If you don't feel happy, pretend to be!
It works. Before long you will find that instead of repelling9 people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.
Then the make-believe10 becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to11 others.
Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged12 with grateful friends.
快乐好似扔入池子里的一颗石头，会激起不断扩散的阵阵涟漪。正如斯蒂文森所言：“快乐是一种责任。”
快乐这个字眼并没有确切的定义。快乐的人可以因种种理由而快乐。其关键并非在财富或健康，因为我们发现有些乞丐、病人和所谓的失败者非常快乐。
快乐是一种意料不到的收获。而能保持快乐则是一项成就，也是灵魂与品性的胜利。努力追求快乐算不上自私。事实上，追求快乐不仅是对我们自己、也是对别人的一种责任。
闷闷不乐就像是一种传染病；染上这种病的人大家都惟恐避之不及。这种人很快就会发现自己感到孤独、痛苦和难过。但是，有一种很简单的治疗方法，乍看起来似乎荒谬可笑，那就是：如果你觉得不快乐，就假装快乐吧！
这个方法很奏效。不久你就会发现自己非但不会使人反感，反而还能吸引别人。你会发现，能够成为广结善缘的中心人物是多么值得的事！
于是，原本装扮的快乐就变成了真正的快乐。你拥有心境平和的秘诀而又能忘我地服务他人。
一旦快乐被当作一种责任并成为一种习惯的时候，它就会开启大门，引领我们进入无法想象的花园中，里面云集着满怀感激的朋友。
1. set... in motion 使…动起来
2. ripple n. 波纹
3. Stevenson 斯蒂文森（1850-1894），苏格兰小说家、诗人和随笔作家。
4. dividend n. 分红；额外收益
5. infectious adj. 有传染性的
6. shrink away 退缩
7. embitter v. （使）难受，怨恨，愁眉不展
8. ridiculous adj. 荒谬的
9. repel v. （使）厌恶，反感
10. make-believe 伪装
11. be of service to 对…有用
12. throng v. 挤满