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    “Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air – explode softly – and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth – boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn’t go cheap, either – not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.” ~ Robert Fulghum

      “A lot of motivational speakers will tell you that the point of life is to be happy… I think that’s bullsh*t.  I think that happiness is an emotion—it’s some dopamine firing in your brain and it’s great and it’s awesome when it happens.  But we can’t chase happiness—we have to chase deep satisfaction and pride—and there’s a difference.  And the way that we do that is not by running away from our pain or sickness, it’s by being sick and saying, ‘So what?'” ~ Claire Wineland (19), Zappos All Hands Meeting

        “We teach sick people that when they are sick, somehow, someway, they cannot be as happy as normal, healthy people.  We teach them that their happiness, their contentment in life, their joy in life, is tied to how healthy they are.” ~ Claire Wineland, Klick MUSE New York

          “Some of the happiest moments in my life have been when I am sick in the hospital—honestly.  And think about the implications of that because I have lived the kind of life that all of you spend your entire lives running from.  I’ve been sick and dying my entire life.  And yet, I am so proud of my life.  What does that say?  We’re waiting to be healthy; we’re waiting to be wealthy; we’re waiting to find our passion; we’re waiting to find our true love before we actually start living!  Instead of looking at everything that we have—looking at all of the pain, looking at all of the sadness, looking at all of the beauty, and making something with that.  That’s how innovation happens.” ~ Claire Wineland, Klick MUSE New York

            “We have to live with peace and joy right away and not wait for the future to do it.  We have to be well right now, right here, peaceful and joyful in the present moment.  There is no way to happiness—happiness is the way.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear

              “Watering the seeds of happiness is a very important practice for the sick or dying.  All of us have seeds of happiness inside us, and in difficult moments when we are sick or when we are dying, there should be a friend sitting with us to help us touch the seeds of happiness within.  Otherwise seeds of fear, of regret or of despair can easily overwhelm us.”

              Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear