"What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life"

Happiness often seems elusive, as if hidden behind layers of mystery or reserved only for those with particular wisdom or luck. Yet Leo Buscaglia challenges this perception, presenting happiness not as an arcane secret but as something intimately tied to the choices we make every day. Rather than being dependent on external circumstances, happiness appears as the natural outcome of an inward decision, a commitment to “choose life” in all its fullness, complexity, and unpredictability.

The act of choosing life involves embracing each moment, with its joys and sorrows, successes and disappointments. It is the willingness to participate fully, to engage deeply, and to accept both love and vulnerability. Only through such wholehearted engagement can individuals experience the richness that happiness offers. Buscaglia’s observation suggests that people who perpetually search for a formula or hidden knowledge risk overlooking the fact that happiness is already accessible, a product of our own agency. The so-called “secret” is no more magical than summoning the courage to say yes to living.

Choosing life requires active intent. It means not passively waiting for circumstances to improve, nor merely wishing for happiness to materialize. Instead, it involves understanding that every day presents an opportunity to practice gratitude, to connect with others, to forgive, to hope, and to accept oneself. This process is rarely easy or straightforward; often, it must be repeated in spite of fear, pain, or disappointment. Yet it is precisely this commitment to engage and endure, to remain open and aware, that makes happiness possible.

Buscaglia’s words call for individual ownership of happiness. They challenge the tendency to externalize responsibility, reminding each person of their power and freedom. Happiness, then, ceases to be a distant or mystical goal, it becomes a daily act of courage and willingness to live fully, in all circumstances.