In the Gospel passage for this Sunday Simeon says his Nunc Dimittis (Lord, now let your servant depart in peace). He has seen the baby Jesus in the Temple and feels that all of his prayers have been answered (Luke 2:22-40). What he had been waiting for his whole life had now happened and he wants for nothing more. What would it take for us to be able to say our own Nunc Dimittis and to feel happy with how things are? Aristotle [my hero]'s answer would that the pursuit of wisdom and the love of family and friends is all a person needs to become good, wise, just and, to put it in a nutshell, happy. By contrast we make a virtue out of wanting more and this leaves us feeling dissatisfied. A report published by the Economic and Social Research Council says that the number of people in their early 30s who report feeling symptoms of depression and anxiety has doubled in just over a decade, from one in 14 in the late 1980s to one in seven today. This weekend take a leaf out of both Simeon's book and say your own Nunc Dimmittis and out also of Aristotle's book and be happy

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