Happy Anywhere

"I came to realize that the more informed we are, the less happy we become because of our tendency to get caught up in constant comparisons. Working on this principle, it seems that the more limited the access to electronic media, the more time people spend together as friends and family and the higher the happiness quotient seemed to be."
 
"No matter how high you set your goals, you may never actually get there. So, what is my definition of happiness? A good friend once said to me, “Happiness is not measured by the number of days you live but, rather, by the number of days you remember.”"

Thanks to Andrew for the link to Martin Lindstrom's "How to be Happy Anywhere."


Lindstrom reflects on people he has met and observed in several parts of the world from South America, to Africa, to China.  Although he acknowledges that some children in Columbia told him that happiness is a "Western thing," he also noticed that having more did not seem to result in greater happiness.  Indeed he posits that wanting more is the cause of UN-happiness.  However, in my reading, he is not suggesting that happiness is the same as contentment.  

Perhaps it is more a matter of appreciation for the pleasures of the moment.  Would that make happiness a judgment?  Or, perhaps an emotional response to a cognitive evaluation?  If so, then deciding to be happy would be a real possibility.