Are happy people old or are old people just happy?

Do people get happier as they age, as one study today suggests, or do happy people just live longer?

Speaking from the view of 54, I feel more at peace and, yes, happier, than I did 20 or 30 years ago. I know my kids agonize over small things, and understand most things are small things.

(Valentine, statue by George Lundeen, in the Decatur, GA courthouse square. Picture by the author.)

Keeping everything bottled up, being a macho man, can kill you, says another new study, this time from the CDC. Hiding your fears may keep you from seeking care for them.

Men who strongly endorsed macho ideals were 26 percent less likely than other participants to have received a physical exam in the prior year, nearly 30 percent less likely to have completed a prostate exam and nearly 50 percent less likely to have obtained all three preventive services in the prior year.

So, in that case, cause. But what about for the larger question. Are we happier as we age or do happy people just live longer?

What religious leaders like the Dalai Lama teach is that happiness and longevity are connected, and the longer you live, the more in-touch with that reality you can become. Happiness is a choice anyone can make, at any age, with any income.

Happiness needs attending to, and the American system provides for it, in part, by making every religious contribution tax-free, for both the giver and the recipient. But can, or should, we do more? How much money could we save on our health care bills if we attended to mental as well as physical health?

Just one of many questions the current health debate isn't asking, let alone answering.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com