I would like to share with you this week’s adventure, in which I crossed half the planet to visit the Kingdom of Bhutan, located between India and China. The reason for having traveled so many kilometers is because this is the happiest place on the planet, where the government has decided not to measure Gross Domestic Product GDP but Gross National Happiness (GNH), that is, National Happiness. Thanks to the organization of the World Happiness Foundation and MyBhutan, it was possible to learn first-hand the philosophy behind this indicator of happiness, its people, and culture. We had a very interesting dinner with the Minister, who explained the pillars of the GNH.
The indicator was one of the goals of the government of Bhutan in 2008, in which the welfare of its population is the most important, it has four pillars: ecological sustainability; sustainability and equality of socio-economic development; good governance and equality before the law; preservation and promotion of a free and resilient culture. Additional ones emerge from each of these pillars, thus achieving a robust indicator of 9 important pillars for this population. For example, it has a pillar that emphasizes psychological well-being, in which they ensure that the population has life satisfaction; positive emotions; and spirituality. From what I was able to see first hand I can tell you that I have never met a population so spiritual, from the point of view of purpose, and so smiling. At each place we arrived, people smiled, we felt peace and tranquility. We made several walks between the mountains to visit extraordinary temples, and one could see that the three beautiful guides that accompanied us, said their prayers in their language, asking that everyone on the excursion be well, safe and healthy.
I can also tell you that this population lives, among other things, from tourism and because of the Covid19 pandemic, the country was closed for three years. In order to maintain the well-being of the population, the King made two decisions, the first: to give a salary out of his pocket, to all the people during this time, and to give them different tasks as volunteers so that they would have their minds occupied with some work, so that be able to take care of your mental health. I came to this story after meeting some beautiful 8-year-old boys and girls from a small town who sang for us. When I asked what the song was about, they told me that during the pandemic the King had been working hard for the people, going from town to town making sure everyone was okay and that their salary was coming.
With so much travel the King was very skinny, people saw him in a photo, so to encourage him and thank him they decided to write that song for him. This story moved me a lot, since it is possible to observe mutual support, it is something very beautiful; At the same time, I was sad for my country Colombia, remembering that time when one of our sick presidents had an incident while on a stage, because the reaction of some people was to make memes for networks and Instagram as a mockery, what a difference.
Obviously, like all places in the world, this happy place also has its challenges, the challenge of education, the challenge of the arrival of technology, and globalization that is changing some behavioral dynamics. But broadly speaking, I can tell you that when the government cares about people’s well-being, quality of life, mental health, well-being and happiness are possible. Thanks to this trip I learned that when we judge something it is because perhaps we lack information, and that spirituality is finding the purpose in life.
You are cordially invited to visit the World Happiness Foundation page, to have this first-hand experience, and live happiness from your heart in the happiest place in the world.