Where do we feel happy? According to a recent National Geographic article, Denmark, Costa Rica and Singapore represent “The World’s Happiest Places” ¹, providing people with a sense of security, purpose and low stress lifestyle. Let’s move!
Or, can we find our own “happy place” right where we are?
In Denmark, for example, taxes with rates between 41%-56%, pay for education, health care and a financial safety net. Author, Julie Pointer Adams, of Wabi-Sabi Welcome, also adds Denmark to a list of “easy–going” and “generous” cultures for entertaining and bringing people together in meaningful ways (California, France, Italy and Japan are the other places on her “Most Welcoming” list.). Routinely gathering with others for a meal is indicative of a happy place!
To determine the world’s “happiest places”, the Gallup World Poll posed questions in more than 140 countries focused on three areas: (1) how people see their lives as a whole, (2) rating of daily happiness and (3) physical health. Despite differences in response from country to country, experiencing a sense of (1) purpose, (2) good health and (3) joy were repeatedly identified as the components for happiness.
Take a moment and consider your own answers to these Gallup-like questions and or explore together with a friend:
- How satisfied are you with your life as a whole?
- Have you volunteered your time to an organization in the past year?
- What brings you joy in your daily life?
- How do you take care of your physical self?
Sometimes there is a place where we physically feel “at home”, content with life. That place can be as simple as a favorite reading chair. Or perhaps the happy place is a hiking trail visited every summer. Maybe your happy place is discovered every time you travel in the world. Where is it for you?
This past weekend my happy place was in Vail’s “Back Bowls” with my husband and two Spaniards who were skiing in Colorado for the first time. The yodeling in the powder fields was contagious. We felt connected to one another, physically experiencing our passion for skiing. At Globe Getaways we help people actualize their dreams by traveling to new “places”.
Closer to home, at A Table In Time, we truly believe that feeling heard and connected to community creates joy and satisfaction. Gathering together and or being in the presence of those who value and support you is what creates a “happy place”. This year, consider a routine morning coffee with friends, a weekly pot-luck dinner, a walk with a neighbor and being friendly to everyone you meet on a daily basis. Live with a purpose of community and experience joy and good health around the table, right where you are now.
Happiness begins as a state of mind created through clear purpose, good health and daily joy. Wishing you in 2018 many “places” where you experience a happy state of mind, near and far, simple and or discovered on your journey, at home, around the table or in the big beautiful world,
Amy
¹ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/11/worlds-happiest-places/