To build a stronger and more concentrated idea about happiness than I have currently, I figured it’ll be worth something to document some learnings from books and essays that talk about happiness here. 1. Throughout the history of time, money and happiness have always been linked to each other because it’s impossible to talk about quality of life without referring to material wealth, but it’s an interesting relation to delve into anyway.
While a study done recently concluded the obvious - the world’s poorest countries have the lowest happiness and the richest report being the most happy, there are some exceptions.
Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/relationship-between-wealth-and-happiness-by-country/
In Latin America, people self-report more happiness than the parallel trend between wealth and happiness would predict and this might be because of the strong importance they place on social connections and familial relations.
Many countries in the Middle East report slightly less happiness than their levels of wealth would predict and even Hong Kong has seen its happiness score sink for years now - unrest, instability and COVID-19 outbreaks have placed these regions in the weird “rich and unhappy” zone.
2. One of the happiest countries of the world, Denmark has a specific concept for happiness — hygge. I’ve been reading about it in a book called The Little Book of Hygge written by Meik Wiking, who is a happiness researcher. There’s no real definition for the word hygge and it can be best described as a feeling of comfort, coziness and contentment that’s experienced “in the moment.”
One of the many ways of manufacturing Hygge is by using candles. In fact, a study conducted by the Happiness Research Institute showed that 85% of people associate Hygge with candles and Denmark uses more candles per capita than any other country in the world. Most people there believe that artificial lights aren’t cozy enough - so, during winter evenings, they light candles in their homes (ideally ones that create a “crackling fire” sound) to make it look, sound and feel as natural as possible.
3.Crystals have, for long, been associated with particular “energies” and crystal healing is a very popular pseudoscience. I believe it’s mostly just a placebo effect of sorts but a really fun one at that. These are a few interesting ones that seem associated with happiness.
Rose quartz - It’s said to carry a feminine energy of tenderness and comfort and it’s encouraged to wear it to attract and strengthen intimate relationships, and to be reconnected to desires.
Amethyst - brings balance. It’s a stone that’s been long used to curb addiction, and makes an aid for those trying to overcome bad habits of any kind.
Blue Lapis - Often called the “truth stone”, it’s said to encourage honesty in all communications, and bring stability and harmony to relationships.
While candles, money and crystals are definitely not the end-all and be-all of happiness, it’s as good a place to start as any (more learnings are coming soon on this series!)