The Geography of Bliss

I love, love, love, love this book! Isaac checked it out from our fabulous library a few weeks ago after reading a blog post by Daniel Montgomery, the pastor of Sojourn Church in Louisville. I have to confess that while Isaac was reading it, I got a little miffed at him because he would start laughing out loud and then just have to read to me the superb writing that brought forth his laughter in the first place. You see, I'm not a big fan of people reading to me when I want to read the book myself. But now I must beg forgiveness from my husband because while I was absorbed in this delightful read, I did the exact same thing to him- even though he's already read it!

This is seriously a book I would consider buying- which doesn't say much for me, I know, since I spend a great deal more money on purchasing books than the average individual- because it is just such a great and absolutely fun read. Written by longtime NPR correspondent Eric Weiner, this book details his quest to find happiness in the world and to understand the cause(s) of happiness. To do so, Wiener travels to several different countries, some rated as happy nations and others rated as, well, not so happy. He begins his journey in the Netherlands, where the world's foremost expert on happiness research (yes, apparently it's a legit field- who knew?) resides and works. Using the Happiness Database compiled by such researches, Weiner sets out to discover just what it is that makes us happy. Is there universal standard which all humans equate with happiness? Does more money really equal more happiness? How do other cultures and countries view happiness? And how on earth do we get a piece of the happiness pie?

Weiner travels through the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India, and of course, America. I wish he had also travelled to at least one South American country and African country, but he did better than most people would have, I'm sure.

There were a couple of passages that stood out to me (and apparently to Daniel Montgomery,as he mentioned both of these in his post as well).

After visiting Moldova, which is the least happy nation in the world according to the Happiness Database (which surprised me because I've met more Moldovians than your average American, and I found them to be pleasantly positive...but then again, I met them in Romania and Tennessee; maybe it's different when you spend time with them in Moldova), Weiner came away with this lesson:

Lesson number one: "Not my problem" is not a philosophy. It's a mental illness. Right up there with pessimism. Other people's problems are our problems. If your neighbor is laid off, you may feel as if you've dodged the bullet, but you haven't. The bullet hit you as well. You just don't feel the pain yet. Or as Ruut Veenhoven told me: "The quality of a society is more important that your place in that society."...Lesson number two: Poverty, relative poverty, is often an excuse for unhappiness. Yes, Moldovians are poor compared to other Europeans, but clearly it is their reaction to their economic problems, and not the problems alone, that explains their unhappiness.

Throughout the book, Weiner explores the relationship between money and happiness. He finds, however, that more money does not equal more happiness; rather, he sums up what some may view as the true key to happiness:

Social scientists estimate that about 70 percent of our happiness stems from our relationships, both quantity and quality, with friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. During life’s difficult patches, camaraderie blunts our misery; during the good times, it boosts our happiness...So the greatest source of happiness is other people – and what does money do? It isolates us from other people. It enables us to build walls, literal and figurative, around ourselves. We move from a teeming college dorm to an apartment to a house and, if we’re really wealthy, to an estate. We think we’re moving up, but really we’re walling off ourselves.

I could go on and on about this book, but I really want you to read it for yourself. A bit of a caveat, however: reading this book may definitely cause the travel bug to bite you good...