happiness is a chemical reaction.
and i think it can be created when one experiences freedom.
and i think this experience of freedom can be created
with a memory that causes one to dwell on the idea of being free.

when one takes the reality around him for granted, there is no reference point as to how freedom can be measured, except with a further release, or a new captivity. but when one learns a version of history that explains what took them where they are, one now has a mental model to measure out just how free they are.

this memory could be one's personal history, one's inherited "traditions", history of the region or country or the world. or this memory could be a myth, a legend, a religion, a story that explains how the world got to be. whether or not such a story is real impacts only how believable the story is. once one is able to subscribe to the story, how much truth it has is practically irrelevant.

is this then simply a lie?
well, yes, because happiness is just a chemical reaction.

at this point, all the obsession
our current civilization has with "truth",
seems somewhat laughable.