Gross National Happiness. Blogtober 2nd.

Since I became a Mother, I’ve been affected more and more by the simple things. These days, most anything can make me happy. That’s why I knew this challenge would be easy. Finding a smile in every day? Easy.

But then I got to thinking. Maybe I want more.

Maybe I want to look past the simple happy things. Maybe I want to go big. Well. My husband got wind of this and he thought he just might have the answer. Try me, I thought. So he did. He told me about this place he’d heard of.

A place where wealth and prosperity are measured in happiness.

Not money.

Source: http://2008.bhutan-360.com/about/©Bhutan, 2008 and beyond

A place where forest growth is a higher priority than its destruction. And food is grown organically.

Source: “Door to Heaven (Trongsa, Bhutan)” by Jean-Marie Hullot – originally posted to Flickr as Door to Heaven (Trongsa, Bhutan). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A place where marijuana is more prevalent in the natural landscape than grass, and yet, it is not abused. People here are fulfilled. They have no need for marijuana.

Except to feed their pigs who then get the munchies, eat, and grow fat. Genius.

Source:© 2014 Bhutan Observer. All rights reserved http://bhutanobserver.bt/7454-bo-news-about-native_pig_conservation_is_a_success_story.aspx

Today I discovered that, nestled into the armpit of the Himalayas, is a place that has taken a step in the direction that I’d desperately like to see the rest of the world go. Its name: Bhutan.

Source: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/bhutan-guide/Photograph by James L. Stanfield

For the government of Bhutan, the end goal is the happiness of its people. Economic growth is sought with a bottom line of achieving a balanced way of life—health and spiritual well being are so important in the eyes of the Bhutanese.

They call it Gross National Happiness.

And it made me smile big.

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Want to know more about Bhutan and Gross National Happiness? Check out these awesome links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zqdqa4YNvI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXJwNSkdTH0

http://2008.bhutan-360.com/about/

http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/asia/bhutan