Geography & Bliss

Just finished reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. And I found it very interesting, indeed. He was an NPR reporter for many years in many places around the world and in the States. He's also a self-professed grump (and hypochondriac and neurotic, as becomes quite evident during the book). So he discovered there was something called the Database of Happiness, which amassed studies on which peoples are the happiest, he had to investigate.

He characterized happiness in: The Netherlands (a number); Switzerland (boredom); Bhutan (a policy); Qatar (a winning lottery ticket); Iceland (failure); Moldova (somewhere else); Thailand (not thinking); Great Britain (a work in progress); India (a contradiction); and America (home). Of course, he explains what he finds out in each place.

He also discusses geographic misfits, people who were born one place but never felt they fit in there and eventually found "their place." When he talks about Asheville NC, near the very end of the book, he asks Laurey Masterton if Asheville is home and she says she supposes so, she's been there 20 years. But when he asks where she wants to die, she replies with no hesitation, In Vermont, where I grew up.

Part of what I'm doing on the road is finding out whether "my" place is still out there or whether I've already found it and won't acknowledge it. When I got off the train in Edinburgh Scotland, I immediately felt like I was home. Maybe that's my place.

He also delves into what constitutes happiness: lack of envy, trust, connections, ability to let things go, and more.

A very good and interesting book.