Happiness is.....priceless!

This current recession has well and truly put a stop to our Gaelic gallop. The downturn has reeled all of us back in a notch or two - or three maybe. The anger among our people is palatable on account of the effects of waste and corruption inflicted on the country by those in powerful positions, all of whom collaborated with each other during the boom years. We should not be happy about this and it is probably fair to say that Ireland is carrying a collective "hump" at this point in time.Add the dreadful weather of November into the pot and we can hardly be expected to be beside ourselves with delirium. Now I have a ceist for you: not only a ceist, but an answer as well. Do you think you will be any less happy in 2010 than you were in 2008? The answer is that, barring some other unrelated crises, you will not. The good news is that we most likely will feel the same level of contentment and happiness no matter which way the pendulum of fortune swings for the country. You may have some difficulty believing this in the present climate, but please read on.The best known researcher in the areas of success and happiness is psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, who has boiled down true happiness to three components. (1) Pleasure from things that make you feel good. (2) Involvement and being immersed in family, work and hobbies. (3) Meaning - as in using personal strengths to serve a larger end. Of the three, Seligman says that pleasure which is linked to material gain is the least consequential and this has been reaffirmed in numerous follow-up studies worldwide.According to researchers at Warwick and Manchester universities people totally overestimate the importance of money in improving wellbeing and mental health. This combined study went on to show that psychological therapy is more than thirty times more cost effective than a lottery win or large pay rise at making people happier.In another study by the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, sociologist Dr Ruut Veenhoven, proved that the extremely poor - those earning less than $10,000 a year, may be rendered unhappy by the relentless stress of poverty but that after a poor person's income exceeds that level there is no further correlation between money and happiness. After a certain level of income, typical enough to meet basic expenses, all studies show that money ceases to be a factor.Money and happiness really do not go hand in hand - at least not in the manner you would expect. The World Database of Happiness (yes, there is such a thing and America has the pursuit of happiness written into her constitution even!) presents one of the most interesting examinations into whether or not money buys happiness.The database is an ongoing register of scientific research on the subjective enjoyment of life. Scores are based on responses to questions about satisfaction with life and perceptions of personal well-being. The answers were rated on a numerical scale, 0 to 10, from dissatisfied to satisfied. Each country's GDP per capita is placed alongside the score for happiness as ascertained by the answers and there is not much correlation between how much money people make and how happy they feel: For example; Guatemalans have the same happiness score as Canadians although their income is only one-eighth as much. Think about this one; the impoverished people of Calcutta, India, living in crude shacks, register about even with Americans on the happiness scale.What scores well in the happiness stakes are the quality of relationships with family and friends and a personal sense of belonging to one's community. This is why we Irish score so well in the happiness league. We have the strongest urge to belong to our own place and on the last published scale of being happy, we came in 11th out of 94 countries. Mind you, listen to Joe Duffy any day and you would think that we are the most miserable whingers God ever put on this planet. Wasn't it GBS who said our songs are sad and our battles happy?!We were happy in "poor times" before and we should be again. More may be more, but it is never enough. For the past decade especially, so many became entangled in the myth that by going up the ladder and achieving possessions they would feel better inside. This is not so and it was summed up nicely by former American president, Jimmy Carter who said; "Earlier in my life I thought that the things you could see mattered more; like your car, your house, your wealth, your property. But as I've grown older I've become convinced that the things that matter most are the things you can't see … the love you share with others, your inner purpose and your comfort with who you are."Another former American president, Abraham Lincoln said that folks can usually be as happy as they choose to be and I am a great believer in that mantraI read a story of a 92 years old woman's first day in the nursing home. She had recently lost her husband of nearly 70 years, making this move necessary. After waiting for hours while being processed, medically examined and so on, she manoeuvred her walker towards the lift, as the friendly nurse endeavoured to make the new resident feel at home by talking about how nice her room was.The old lady smiled radiantly and said with enthusiasm; "I love it". "But you haven't seen it yet - so just wait," said the nurse. "That doesn't have anything to do with it ", she gently replied: "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not does not depend on how the furniture arranged. It is how I arrange my mind and I have decided to love it."Many minds need rearranging; how about yours?Don't ForgetIf only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty wonderful time. (Edith Wharton).