I'm doing fine. I used to be much richer and healthier than I am now. I was also less happy and contented. I experienced some health disasters and serious acc

I'm doing fine. I used to be much richer and healthier than I am now. I was also less happy and contented. I experienced some health disasters and serious accompanying financial losses. I could list afflictions and disadvantageous circumstances, but I'm happier and more content now than I was before all of that. During one of the particularly bad spells I turned to the writings of the classical Stoics, which I was already familiar with in a general way, because I was raised on the classics. I found useful tools there, and I used them to learn how to be happy. Stoicism is less about metaphysics, and more about working out practically how to live a happy and virtuous life--how to be a good and happy person. I assume it won't work for everyone, but it worked pretty well for me, and my grown children report that it has worked for them, as well. I think it's worth mentioning on the off chance that someone else might also find it helpful. If you're curious, you can find a lot of resources just by googling "stoicism". The Wikipedia article is a decent introduction. If you want more specific recommendations, I suggest the _Enchiridion_ of Epictetus and the journals of Marcus Aurelius, usually translated under the title _Meditations_. There's a lot of value in Seneca, too. You'll find that the ancients usually assumed the existence of the gods, but I'm personally an atheist, and nothing in Stoicism requires belief in any deities. If you don't find it as useful as I did, I hope you find something else that works better.