People say the three elements leading to happiness are something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.  So in some sense, it's very easy to be happy. No? for example, keep yourself busy + have a pet (if can't find a partner) + have your favorite food in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow morning, then you have the 3 keys. But on a grander level, it's rather hard to acheive any of them. what if the something to do currently is something you hate, what if indulging youself to really love someone is irrational, what if you don't know what you really want, so you don't really have something to look forward to?  Things can be small and insignificant, but makes you satisfied enough. So it's big. Things can seem to be close, but when you think harder or look at it more truthfully, it's not that clear to you any more. So it's distant.