Leave it to me to quote a cartoon to talk about a book on happiness. (Peach in Finding Nemo) I just finished reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner and I found myself intrigued. Most people will tell you that happiness is a state of mind. Weiner sets out to see if that state of mind has something to do with the state you're in. Or more particularly the country.
The book follows Weiner on a year's journey to discover the happiest places in the world. He visits places from Iceland, Qatar, Bhutan, Thailand, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Moldova (one of the least happiest countries on earth). In each country he settles in and starts trying to figure out why the people there are so happy. What secrets they know that the rest of us don't.
He starts with the data gathered by the World Database on Happiness in Amsterdam. I had been aware of the Database for a while from when I was doing research on childlessness. The project attempts to quantify happiness and break it down by its components. Some are common sense, others are not. People in close communities tend to be happier, religous people tend to be happier, childless people tend to be happier, and for some odd reason middle earners tend to be happier. The database also looks at location, what countries report the highest levels of happiness.
So Weiner goes to visit those countries (and some others) to see what makes them tick. Each country is very different and some of the reasons for happiness are very different. As he says Switzerland is very rigid and repressed but happy. Thailand is very laid-back and easy going and happy. Iceland is very cold and dark but happy. But some of the similarities shine through. All have good social structures (family and community is important). All have appreciation for the land surrounding them. All work to eliminate envy and discord in their society.
Iceland was, for me, the most interesting chapter. Now I'm not a fan of winter or cold but by the end of that chapter I would have willingly moved to Iceland. I would have been more than happy to live in darkness half the year for a taste of the social structure they have. Weiner discusses the creative energy of Iceland (everyone is a writer or poet, everyone!). He says how the Icelandic people have a different view of failure, celebrating failed attempts and constantly reinventing themselves. He talks about how with the small population everyone is very close knit. They have to be in order to survive.
I often imagine that geography and happiness go together. I've never felt exactly at home in my American skin. Something about the culture just doesn't move at the same speed I do. I used to think that I was just born at the wrong time, but now I wonder if it wasn't the wrong place. I always imagined I was British and I have to admit that the chapter on Great Britain made me think that I could live there as well. I'm happy here in Iowa (since the pace of life tends to be slower), but there is just the occasional thought that something is not right. That somehow I'm not in step with my society. Perhaps we all have to go find our happy place.
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