I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God... Happy are those who make the Lord their trust... (Psalm 40: 1-4)

The pursuit of happiness may be the preeminent American characteristic. I presume that Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson had Aristotle's eudaimonia in mind when they enshrined happiness in the Declaration of Independence.

In the psalms to be happy is almost always to be blessed. 'Esher is the noun, 'asher is the verb. It means to make progress, to advance on a goal, or to straighten what is crooked.

For both Aristotle and the psalmist to be happy is to fulfill one's unique character by becoming one's true self. It is the process of becoming - the experience of growth and progress - that is the source of happiness.