The Geography of Bliss

The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner (pronounced Whiner)

This guy had a theory that when people talk about happiness, it's more of a destination. So he set out to find where, geographically, the happiest places on earth are. With the help of the World Database of Happiness, located in the Netherlands, he found some of the higher ranked places of happiness - according to surveys, etc. He visited and then profiles 10 countries (America included) to find out why these places would be happy - money, location, breathing exercises. He interviews people in those places and gets an indicator as to why those people are happy, and where they see themselves on the happiness scale (1-10).

This book is filled with little nuggets about what happiness is all about. Trust is huge. Volunteering. Relationships. The prior reader of my copy highlighted several of those nuggets along the way, which is always convenient to have someone prior say "hey, this seemed important to me." That's why I always bought used books at college.

Something that really struck me was after starting this book, I came across a talk by Elder Quinton L. Cook. The title of the talk was "The True Path to Happiness." There will always be those seeking happiness, after all "men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). He highlighted a few things we must do to have happiness. Keep the Commandments, Serve others, Relationships...especially the family, recognize and honor our past. Interesting that these things came up in the book. But I have the opportunity to learn these things from a Special Witness of Christ. It is truly through the Lord Jesus Christ that we are led to happiness. Does that mean we will be happy 100% of the time? Maybe not as the world defines it, but there will be peace in our lives because the Spirit will be with us. Christ is the intergral part of this Plan of Happiness.