Why are old Canadians so happy and young Canadians so unhappy? That’s the story the World Happiness Report (WHR) tells us. Every year the report is issued by a partnership including Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report reflects an interest in
Continue readingTag: happiness
Claiming Joy & Healing Amidst the Climate Emergency : Cultivating Mindfulness While The Climate Emergency Clock is Ticking
This past June I had the good fortune to spend five days on a family kayaking trip in Pacific Rim National Park, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It was amazing to spend time in this part of the world, with its important indigenous history and stunning beauty. While
Continue readingThings Are Good: People Who Ditched Their Car Are Happier
There’s are individuals who advocate against making our cities better places to live because they fear losing their dependence on their automobile (car marketers encourage this too). We need to let car-brained individuals know that their lives will be better if they have more transportation options and that they will
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Ultimate Happiness Guide
Happiness isn’t the goal of life, but it sure is important. If you’re not feeling happy it isn’t because you don’t have enough stuff or not watching enough TV. According to experts you should join a club (doesn’t matter what it is just that you’re with others), walk outside in
Continue readingThings Are Good: Increase Happiness by Getting Out of Your Comfort Zones
If you ever feel that you’re in a rut then do something to get you out of your comfort zone. A new study reveals the importance for expanding one’s boundaries to increase one’s happiness. Going out of your comfort zone doesn’t need to be skydiving, public speaking, or anything extreme.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Volunteering Increases Happiness
People who volunteer tend to be happier than those that don’t. Is that because happier people volunteering or that volunteering can make you happy? It turns out that volunteering does increase your happiness. Researchers found that the average volunteer gets a happiness equivalent to a salary boost of $1,100 USD.
Continue readingScripturient: Are Secular Nations Happier?
Are less-religious or more secular nations happier than religious ones? Studies suggest yes. Personally, I would certainly be happier in a more secular nation if it meant fewer angry, nasty, fanatic believers like the Westboro Baptist congregation (see picture, right), or the faux-faith anti-mask/anti-vaccine, pro-disease protestors,* or any of the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reflections on the good life – Simplify, simplify
What brings true happiness? A healthy lifestyle; a positive attitude, outlook and philosophy; a simple life close to nature; meaningful work; time spent in solitude and stillness, reconnecting with yourself; and surrounding yourself with people, and an environment, a place, that fit with you: these things bring happiness and peace
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: 2020—A happy year?
2020 would seem to have been a tough year for happiness. But not for the Finns. Or for most of the rest of us for that matter. The World Happiness Report is out and despite the death toll from Covid along with the economic insecurity and disruption of most aspects
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Money Cannot Buy Happiness But …
They say money cannot buy happiness but it certainly can buy food and shelter and education that can make the difference between misery and happiness, not to mention that health is directly related to economic status. Yet people still claim people are poor because they are lazy and all we
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE MILLSTONE OF HAPPINESS
Yesterday, I was driving to visit Nicholas, listening to the radio as I always do in the car. On air was an episode of Krista Tippet’s podcast ON BEING. Krista was interviewing an author about the idea of joy and how it differs from happiness. “The millstone of happiness”
Continue readingWilly Loman: Happy birthday Johnny
When I was a kid, I played “3 and you’re in”, every day after school, until my mother would come home from work. Whoever was in net or in reality in front of, one of the garage doors in my apartment complex, pretended to be Johnny Bower. There was no
Continue readingThings Are Good: In 2019 Aim for Satisfaction Instead of Happiness
At the start of the year people make new goals for themselves, often those are about improving one’s life. This year instead of focusing on happiness as a goal you should consider thinking longer-term and think about satisfaction. Recent research points out that happiness itself is something that can be
Continue readingThings Are Good: For Happier Cities get More Cyclists
Cities where people cycle regularly are happier than cities in which cycling is rare. The evidence continues to mount that building good cycling infrastructure will improve the life of everybody in a city – regardless if they ride or not. Urban planners already know that designing cities for pedestrians and
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Happiest Workers are Self-Employed
It’s Wednesday my dudes, which means you’re likely midway through your work week. If you’re looking for a boost in productivity and happiness you may want to consider working for yourself. People who are self-employed report being happier than people who work for bosses in a recent in study about
Continue readingThings Are Good: Be Lazy About Happiness
Dan Buettner has travelled the planet looking for ways to make people happy and has found that the best thing one can do is be relaxed about the whole thing. He wrote a book, The Blue Zones of Happiness, that basically says happiness is a journey, not a destination. To be
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: The Plight of the Millennials
Further explanation here. First, a bit about statistical norms and the normal distribution. In social sciences, for something to be considered a statistically significant characteristic of a group, it just needs to be present in about 68% of the population, or one standard deviation from the norm. There’s tons of
Continue readingThings Are Good: How to Maximize Misery
Many people strive for happiness and think it’s the end goal of life – pro tip: it isn’t. We’ve looked at happiness quite a few times and if there’s anything to learn from these posts it’s to embrace what you have at any given time. Mindfulness is key. In the
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Lessons I Learned About Happiness as a Disability Parent
My husband and I were alone with the doctor in the hospital playroom when she gave us the news about our six month-old baby son. “Never be normal” are the words I recall. I also remember “generalized cerebral atrophy.” I felt a strange, out of body sensation as time and
Continue readingThings Are Good: 3 Things You Can do Now to Improve Your Life
Happiness is an elusive thing – one can never have enough and striving for it makes it unattainable. We all want happiness in our, so how can we achieve a happier life? The most obvious answer is to “live in the now” and be thankful for what you have, but
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