And another 10 percent of what happens to us is happenstance--accidents, deaths--also beyond our control. But a key 40 percent is up to us. And happiness experts say those activities need to provide pleasure, engagement and meaning. A full life contains all three. And doing exercises can show you the way.

Helping others is a case in point: One psychologist advises her clients to commit five intentional acts of kindness to others each week. Another key to a better outlook is appreciating what one has. One exercise to reinforce that trait is to write down three positive things that happened to you each day.

You should also take note of why they happened, because they could have happened through something you did and your own effectiveness needs to be appreciated, too. Getting so involved in what you're doing that you forget about time is another essential element in reaping happiness.

If time flies, you're doing something right. Finding meaning in something greater than yourself is essential, too: service to others produces an emotionally rewarding life, studies have shown.

All these positive indicators are part of a class called a Happiness Seminar offered at the Senior Center. The instructor is Genie Dee, executive director of the center. Dee took the course via Internet and tailored it to her Saratoga clientele. In the first session, participants took a nine-page survey to isolate and affirm their five greatest strengths. Positive psychology bases its credo on strengths, not weaknesses such as fears and obsessions.

Maybe it's too much to ask that one can learn how to be happy, but there are techniques to practice to increase optimism, certainly a step in the right direction. Positive psychology invites a more productive life and offers practical applications to increase your happiness and those around you.

Sounds like a pretty tall order, doesn't it? I took the pilot course, along with five others, but the course will be offered again. I would imagine other senior centers would be interested, too.

BARBERSHOP HARMONY: Four Saratogans, avid barbershop singers, are part of the Garden City Chorus that rehearses weekly and has toured as a group, garnering national and international recognition for itself with its close harmony renditions. The four are Bob Cancillieri, Jerry Larkin, Dean James and Greg Sawyer.

They were part of a weekend sing, somewhat like a retreat, given recently at Cal State East Bay. There were four different voice coaches on board for the festival and the Garden City group was chosen as the guinea pig for the weekend, James explains. On Friday night it was the featured group that presented a series of songs.

Participants were coached all day on Saturday and then presented the same songs in the Saturday night program that they had the night before. The idea, of course, was to show graphically that coaching from professional musicians can produce finer renditions.

This is being written before the concert weekend, so the jury is still out on the coaches. However, you can catch the barbershoppers in action yourself on Sept. 18, 4 p.m., in a show at the Campbell Community Center. It's an old-fashioned ice cream social and there will be a chorus and six quartets performing.

One of the things that James finds most satisfying about the group is that it encompasses such a wide variety of ages, occupations and musical training--from 12- to 80-year-olds, from professors to house painters, from trained musicians to shower singers.

Three years ago Garden City qualified for the international competition in Montreal and Saratogans are often in leadership roles. James was recently named to the music team and Sawyer is the leader of that advisory board of six. Larkin is the president of the board of directors of Garden City, so Saratoga reps stand out in that a cappella organization.

WINE/ART WINNER: Los Gatan Ann Fox won the Burrell Schoolhouse Winery art award called Art in the Vineyard this summer. Fox's contribution was a paper collage that employed 1,000 or more pieces of printed paper. She beat out 19 other submissions and won a case of Burrell wine.

The event promises to become an annual affair. The winery is on Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains and we know from its title what its former role was.

AUDITIONS: Auditions for the El Camino Youth Symphony are under way for musicians ages 6-18 for spots in nine different orchestras and ensembles. For an appointment, submit an application online at www.ecys.org or call 650.327.2611.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.