Ah, I'm not gonna lie to you, Marge. So long!
I believe the true path to happiness is honesty... mainly to one's self. I believe that it's just its basic form. There may be derivatives of this, but honesty is definitely the skeleton supporting the body of happiness.
Most people aren't 100% honest with themselves and thus have not reached their total potential of happiness. Each lie that we propagate upon ourselves creates a whole new layer of deception. The happiest people have the fewest layers. The number and thickness of each layer is dependant on one's outside contact with the universe -- a stimulus.
The facade one is creating reaches different people in different ways. One's bestest chum in the world may have access to the bare-boned truth not privy to most... while a bank teller or some girl at a party is stonewalled by several highly insulated walls of trickery. These walls filter the truth when information is exchanged. For instance, when Billy asks Jimmy if he likes Ace of Base, Jimmy already contains a ready-made "yes" in his brain. However to avoid looking like a hipster doofus, Jimmy purports to Billy that no, Ace of Base is poly-woly crappy. This initial yes (the truth) has been caught in a net of dishonesty (filter).
The result of this filter and its overuse leads to stress and an overall loss of wit and timing. For each layer one has, it creates a whole new barrier where the truth is sifted out by motives that contradict being true to oneself. Society usually plays a role in these motives, and is one of the main obstacles that stands in the way of true personal happiness.
