Looking for joy

I have often wondered why people want to amass so much money than they can spend in their lifetime ...
or why people march behind the battlecry "freedom to do what I want" ...
or why people engage or remain in abusive relationships and habits ...
or why people spend a good deal of their time and energy in running after success, accomplishments and recognition ...
I think that at the root of each of this is really the cry of the human heart to be happy. In whatever age or situation, we look for joy. Even our faith in God is, to a great extent, motivated by the quest for joy.
The problem is, we forget about this "end" of our searching. We focus on the means, the ones I've listed above. Like blind persons running around in circles, we accomplish them yet we crave for more. We are never satiated because we forget, in the first place, what we are looking for: it's not money, nor beauty, nor health, nor success... It's all about joy, the real one.
I think we should shift gears. We should stop running after things, people, fleeting pleasures, etc. because our very experiences tell us that they will never give us true joy.
Instead, we must acquire the eyes of a child that is capable of awe and wonder in front of the most ordinary, everyday thing.
Joy is always before us, within our grasp, through the most unexpected ways.
We must let go of our adult, sophisticated ways and become like children.

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." (Mt 11:25)
"Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:3)