Ben Fry (a genius himself) has a great quote at the bottom of his site page:
We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life,
when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
— Albert Einstein
Besides being utterly true, it hints at the social nature of happiness -- human happiness does not occur in isolation (despite what the pop psychology says). Creating or stumbling on the circumstances that get a few people together in their enthusiasm about an idea or anything is the key, the answer, the holy grail. But how elusive that turns out to be!