Book excerpt: The Hunt for Happiness explores what it means to be happy, drawing the reader into a way of thinking that respects every individual and cherishes every life. Using personal stories, fictional conversations, and diverse characters, humanity’s fascination with rulemaking and shunning others is exposed as a common foe of our relationships with each other, our ability to help each other be happy and content, and, perhaps, our relationships with the divine. Throughout, conversations seeking truth build bridges from ancient texts including Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scripture to modernity with an eye towards the promise of the Kingdom of God and the notion that all humans are beloved of the Almighty just as we are. Breaking down the walls that divide us through thinking things out is the main theme of The Hunt for Happiness. A bright future awaits humanity unless we reject the opportunity to learn about and from each other, and permit further encroachment of dystopian realities in our world. Such dystopian realities have always been with us; the question is whether or not we will break the cycle.