This seemingly small country has something rather unique and wonderful about it. Rather than measure the growth of a country by it’s economy it measures it by how happy the people are. According to Gross National Happiness they ask a selection of citizens how they feel about a variety of areas of living including: Time use, Living Standards, Good Governance, Psychological Wellbeing, Community Vitality, Culture, Health, Education & Ecology.
And according to Wikipedia in 1972 the ruler of Bhutan king Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that he wanted a system of monitoring the growth of his nation that fitted in with the country’s Buddhist religion and so Gross National Happiness was developed.
I think the world would be a much better place if other countries adopted this system of measuring their growth. I’m sure many of you could argue against this and I’m sure the system has plenty of criticisms. But for me given the choice between happiness and money, I’d go for happiness every time as money can’t buy happiness.
Just thought I’d share something that brightened my day,
Antony
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