The world is beautiful. I wasn‘t always, but somehow things have just been looking up in the last few years. This park is just one example, but it is a pretty one. A meandering gravel path at the side of a lake winds itself through grass and bushes and flowers in full bloom. It‘s almost perfect, just like the weather has been recently.

It‘s a sliver of paradise, which is why the man sitting with his head in his hands and his jacket closed up tight is jarring. I hadn‘t thought it possible that the sunlight could provoke anything other than warmth and contentness. How could one be cold here?

But still, if there‘s anything I‘ve earned from the last few years it‘s that happiness is infectious. A single person laughing and smiling whenever you see them can completely shatter your outlook on life until you too smile and laugh and pass that on to others.

So I saunter up to the man sitting miseerably on a bench in paradise and say „Hello, it‘s a beautiful day, isn‘t it.“

For some reason that inspires laughter in the man, and not true laughter but spiteful and mocking exhales of air.

„What more do you want?“, the man asks wihout lifting his head.

„What do you mean?“

„You want money? A better job? A family that loves you?“, the man asks as he finally lifts his head. His eyes are red with tears and hard with resentment.

„No“, I reply, taken aback by the turn of the conversation, „I have all that and I‘m quite content to enjoy the weather.“ Happiness really is infectious. I definitely wouldn‘t have just enjoyed the weather by itself before everything got better.

The man snorts, though it‘s an overacted, mocking act, and stands up to leave. „As if. People are never content.“

I don‘t know whether it‘s his still hunched in form or his suddenly tired eyes, but I just can‘t let the conversation lie. „Please wait“, I say, „Do you want to talk about it?“

„Talking wil just make it worse. I should go“, he answers, though he doesn‘t seem convinced by his own words.

„Then do you want to talk about something else, something innocuous? You seem quite lonely“, I propose, because apparently I‘m just desperate to wipe that haunted face from a complete stranger. He really needs to catch some happiness.

„Yeah, sure“, he gives in and lets himself fall back to the bench.

I start talking and I don‘t stop. I tell him stories from my friends, stories that have until now made everyone who heard them laugh though they only elicit a small smile from him. I tell him stories of my family and how the new cancer therapies saved my dad, which causes him to avert his eyes and start crying. I tell him stories from work and of the unique people I meet there, people that are part of the world just like everyone, but that you rarely see.

I‘m in the middle of a story about how a no-nonsense businessman loving held and comforted a screaming child so that the mother could get out her card to pay, when he laughs for the first time. „You really don‘t want anything, do you? Not a better job? You work in a supermarket, shurely there somewhere you would make more money?“

„No, thanks. I like my job. The people I work with a nice, customers are all happiness carriers, and it‘s an important job but not one with a lot of responsibility. It‘s perfect“, I explain.

„That‘s good to hear“, the man sighs, „That‘s really good. I hope you get to keep your happiness when it all goes to hell.“

„What do you mean?“

„I…“, the man pauses and recollects his thoughts, „God, I‘m so selfish. I just wanted… My sister shoved me out the door today. Said I was depressed and to take a walk and call a therapist before the last one retires. The thing is, I can‘t do that. I can‘t be happy. I…“

I want to interrupt, to tell him how stupid that is, that of course he can be happy, but he holds up a hand. I get the feeling that he couldn‘t start talking again if he stopped now.

„Six years ago, everything got better, right? Global warming gone, penguins are happy, that sort of thing? Well, six years ago I was told that I can make eyerone in the world happy if I‘m sad instead. It‘s a proportional effect too, so for the world to be so happy as it is now… You get the picture.“

Yes, I get the horrifying picture. I can‘t help but reach out to the man to offer some comfort and surprisingly he lets me put my hand on his shoulder. „That‘s awful“, I tell him, „That‘s terrifying. Wow, you must be so much stronger than I am. I don‘t think I could take the suffering of the world.“

„It‘s not really any suffering I take“, the man admits, „It‘s more like I draw the happiness from myself and give it to others and since it‘s a zero sum game, the sadness that gets left is overwhelming, but it‘s still only my sadness.“

„So then what do you mean, „when it all goes to hell“? That seems like a pretty stable state,“ I ask because I still can‘t quite wrap my head around the concept. I‘m not even sure he‘s not delusional, but he seems to believe what he says.

„I… I enjoyed listening to you. I enjoyed the sunshine and the breeze and everything. Don‘t you understand what that means?“, he almost shouts at me.

„No, that‘s good, isn‘t it?“

„No, it‘s bad. Very, very bad. If I‘m happy, then the world is unhappy. You‘re not happy right now, right?“, he rambles frantically.

„I‘m not happy, but that has more to do with the conversation“, I admit, „But in any case, happiness is not a zero sum game. You know that, right?“

„Of course it is“, the man scoffs, „I‘m unhappy when I make others happy.“

„But you‘re not unhappy enough to have given happiness to eigth billion people. You‘re not unhappy enough to have given happiness to all the world“, I argue.

„So what, the world just improved on it‘s own? It was all for nothing? Six years depression for nothing?“, the man says with a voice laced in desperation.

„No, think of it more like a seed or… I know! Think of it like a virus. You‘re infected with a small amount, but it then expands exponentially inside of you and you can pass it on to others“, I explain.

The man is at a loss for words.

„So you see“, I continue on, suddenly afraid that he‘d disregard me and continue torturing himself, „We can create our own happiness. We can be happy without making anyone unhappy. Do you want that?“

„Yes“, the man whispers with a smile, „I want that very much.“