Mark Hamilton argues that people are happiest when they are creating. He uses an anecdote about his dogs chasing rabbits to illustrate that animals are happiest when acting in their "essence," and extends this to humans by claiming humans uniquely create values — so creating aligns humans with their essence and produces happiness.
I don't think people realize they are happiest when they are creating. You see, let's break it down. Every animal is happiest when it is in its essence. Let's go out there and talk a minute about animals and essences. Let's talk about dogs. I had my dogs in my backyard, and they found a bunch of rabbits. And they were chasing the rabbits around, and they were wagging their tails so hard and so aggressively. It was interfering with their hunting, at least I thought so. Why do they wag their tails when they're trying to hunt? Well, I realize when they're hunting, they're on their primordial essence. And they are just so happy, it's almost like they were smiling. Well, human beings now are the only animals in the universe that can create. Create values. So when they create values, they are on their essence as a human being.
