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The Happiest Place on Earth. |
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Written by julia
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April 21, 2011
Smile. Breathe. Relax.
Imagine a place where no one fights. Where everyone gets along. Where there is nothing but pure happiness and good times.
Many argue that such a place does not exist but I think it can happen. It can happen because it takes one person to smile and to share a good thought or good idea. Why waste energy on negativity? Why ruin someone's day? Why look for problems? Even the most negative person in the world was born into this world with the possibility of happiness. Whatever outside factors have influenced the negativity, one happy thought and idea could change someone's life.
Unfortunately, many are challenged by the idea of emptying their mind and finding peace within themselves because...life is stressful.
Life is stressful because no matter how much we have or how much we think we have, it is never enough. And we strive to get to a point of having "everything," encountering life's obstacles that come along the way, making life stressful.
In 2006, Vanuatu was voted "The Happiest Place on Earth," by the Happy Planet Index, created by the New Economics Foundation(NEF). However, "The Index doesn’t reveal the ‘happiest’ country in the world. It shows the relative efficiency with which nations convert the planet’s natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens." (www.happyplanetindex.org/learn) I say, "however," because as I started to explain, happiness begins within us. And somehow we are becoming a world where happiness is acheived with money and materialism, and we are forgetting about the most important thing, ourselves.
The New Economics Foundation "aims to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues." (www.neweconomics.org/about) What exactly is mainstream thinking? This question allows for numerous answers, however, one can agree that as society becomes more and more "civilized," and as we continue to rely on techonology and materialism to grow, the earth's response seems to be... a negative one.
What's even worse is that as situations get rough, people freak out more. Wars are usually over land and power. Power to control the land. Why? Because resources are starting to run out and everyone's need and want for more is causing chaos between people, between people and the earth. Eventually we'll start to invade land that has not been demolished already - for what? For resources. Can we blame us? As children we are taught to want and need
more. But what about being satisfied with the simple things in life? When did it become okay for our freedom to be taken away by money?
It seems like I'm going off topic more and more. But it is all linked together for one reason, the reason for this blog: The Happiest Place on Earth. While Vanuatu is a third-world country, has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and "mainstream thinking" would call it, "uncivilized," the people are happy.
They find peace within themselves, their natural surroundings, their family, their culture. They have not yet been introduced to the idea of materialism. But as they become more and more introduced to money, perhaps they will also begin to adapt to the mentality of wanting more. Not being satisfied with what they have. Then they will have to fight for their land once it becomes inhabited by people looking for more resources. More war, more stress, more problems. The people are friendly and despite the country having over 83 different islands with vast languages, they for the most part get along and rather than fight each other, they find harmony. Once the need for power erupts, which could start once money gets involved and it already has, they might face the same dangers Native Americans faced years ago.
Technology has allowed us to bring a Nakamal (Kava Bar) to your home. And I am not arguing against the need for advancement. But when will it be too much? When machines start to take over? When will we be able to combine happiness with both advancement and nature?
Obviously people drink kava in Vanuatu. This is possibly one of the many factors that make the people calm and more stress-free. While kava can not "cure" life's difficulties, it brings together a peaceful atmosphere and relaxes our over thinking heads. And we all know what over thinking does...causes stress and can drive us crazy. This is why I say, drink a shell and relax. "Don't worry about the world coming to an end, it's already tomorrow in Australia."- Charles M. Schulz. Just try to best you can to be happy...it's not easy but it's possible.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 April 2011 )
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