Maybe the trick is be able to have our eyes open, see the truth, be open minded, go with the flow of the "good" and the "bad" - and then choose to be happy anyway. If happiness is a choice we make, regardless of the outward circumstances, there is no need for either denial or the frantic pursuit of pleasure. We do what we choose or have to do, we engage, we keep informed, and can still be joyful as an expression of who we are.