Come On, Get Happy

[BridgeTheGap]

I’ve been hearing about Bhutan a lot these days. Namely, I’ve been hearing about their pursuit of happiness as a country, as defined by their GNP or Gross National Happiness—the country’s answer to the almighty gross domestic product (GDP). So entrenched are we in the ubiquitous language of GDP, it’s easy to hear talk of National Happiness as synonymous with unicorns and pots of gold at the end of rainbows. How can a country hope to define its national well being in terms of happiness? It’s hard enough for us to say if we’re happy or not on an individual level, much less to try and tell the whole country, Come on, get happy!

In an interview with Yes! Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley attempts to explain how his country is pursuing the goal of happiness for all:

"First, we are promoting sustainable and equitable socioeconomic development which can be measured to a larger extent through conventional metrics."

"Second is the conservation of a fragile ecology, indicators of achievement, as the way the green cover in my country has expanded over the last 25 years from below 60 to over 72 percent…."

"The third strategy is promotion of culture, which includes preservation of the various aspects of our culture that continue to be relevant and supportive of Bhutan’s purpose as a human civilization…."

"Then there is the fourth strategy—good governance —on which the other three strategies or indicators depend."

Read more: http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Bhutan-Gross-National-Happiness-Being-Happy.aspx#ixzz1CpNKit4p

[mhatrw]

1. Nothing threatens our current global power structure more than this line of thinking.

Happiness > $ ?

This means war!

[snagglepuss]

2. Thanks for posting this. I remember seeing a doc about phallus decorations

in Bhutan. It seems the the phallus is a revered symbol so phalluses are everywhere - inside and outside houses. I wonder if this overt age-old appreciation and celebration of Mr Happy has influenced their philosophical outlook:)