Due to the nature of our IDS 400 course, everyone was thrilled and relieved to sit down in an actual classroom today because normally our classroom session is held outside. However, because it had recently snowed, the temperature was cold and the ground was wet and spotted with puddles, creating muddy trails to the despair of those who were unprepared. Once we got settled indoors inside the classroom located in the warm building of King hall, many of us took off our wet shoes and socks as we waited to see a short film. The film we watched was actually a documentary titled, “Happy.” The purpose of this film was centered on the question of what makes people happy? This documentary was inspired by the article published in the New York Times called, “A New Measure of Well-Being From a Little Kingdom,” by Andrew C. Revkin. It was revealed that people living in poorer countries appeared to be happier than many of the people living in the United States. Although the poorer individuals were lacking in financial wealth, they were rich with the love and support of family, creating feelings of belonging and a sense of purpose, which seems to be fading in the lives of many throughout America. I say this because the U.S. focuses more on individualism instead of collectivism. The researchers responsible for this film based their analysis on the personal accounts from people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to aid in a more in-depth exploration of the dynamics of happiness and what it takes to become happier. The main theory here seemed to imply that financial wealth or having a higher economic status had very little to do with a person’s ability to be happy in life if their basic needs such as food and shelter were met. More information about the documentary can be located in an article by By Jeffrey Peterson in the link that follows.
What Makes You Happy?
Creative Intelligence 