The Kingdom of Happiness

The Kingdom of Happiness

Introduction What is happiness? Happiness can mean many different things to different people. The people of Bhutan (boo-TAHN) think of happiness as being content. The government of Bhutan wants its citizens to be happy. It thinks happiness is more important than money. That is why the government of Bhutan asks people questions every few years to see how happy they are. This information is used to improve life for everyone in “ The Kingdom of Happiness. "

Growth and Happiness Bhutan's first happiness interviews took place in 2007. However, the idea of tracking happiness came about long before that. In 1972, a new king was crowned in Bhutan. King Wangchuck was just sixteen years old. The young king loved his country. He wanted it to grow and be successful.

King Wangchuck knew that other countries measure success by money alone. They add up the cost of goods they make and sell. The king did not believe that was right for Bhutan. Most of its citizens were Buddhists. They believe that happiness is an important step to leading a good life. Money was only a small part of that. King Wangchuck wanted his country to be a happy place. Only then would it succeed. He came up with a plan for Bhutan called Gross National Happiness(GNH). It had four key ideas about happiness that would help Bhutan's growth.

Four Pillars of Happiness Bhutan's government believes that happiness is based on four ideas, or “ pillars. " These are government rule, social and work matters, culture and traditions, and nature and the environment. The king and his government considered all four pillars when creating new laws.

At first, the four pillars were only guides for people's happiness. There was no real survey. Bhutan was a quiet country protected from the modern world. Its people led simple lives and were mostly content. People dressed in Bhutanese clothing. They took time each day to sit quietly with their thoughts. They enjoyed nature. Families spent time together. Then things slowly began to change.