Happiness and Rainbow Nations

Last evening we attended an outdoor concert at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The view was stunning. We walked up a stone path canopied with greenery so full it was as if we were completely immersed by the earth. The hill we sat and danced on during the concert created natural stadium seating, and the grass was a giant cushion, like an organic grass pillow. From the hill we looked down at the amphitheatre where Lira and others performed. Behind the amphitheatre were the mountains, so giant and mighty it is a wonder that anyone can deny the existence of some higher being.

We had never heard her jazz/afro-pop music before, but were all intrigued by the purity of Lira’s live performance. In public gatherings such as these, I am constantly reminded of how recent the end of apartheid is in this nation. Looking out over the crowd, Lira welcomed Nelson Mandela’s “rainbow nation” that was her audience. And it was truly something remarkable to witness. On this night, in this country where just a decade ago people still could not see past the color of skin, people of every hue were dancing and sitting crowded next to one another, no problem. Everyone was singing and dancing together and toasting to the same music of a Sotho musician. Music has a way of transcending boundaries that man has created. But it is not just the music, it is a spirit that is bleeding into the South African way of life, I think.

Lin-Lin, a fellow student, and I were walking through the garden paths prior to the beginning of the concert and were stopped in our tracks by a precious site in the distance. Three small boys, naked, frolicking in the stream. Two of the boys were white, one black. There is something beautiful about children, and I think we could learn a lot from them if we paid a little more attention. The sad thing about growing older is not that our skin begins to wrinkle or that our hair begins to gray. It is that we lose our childish innocence. We begin to care what the rest of society thinks about us rather than just doing what makes us happy, what brings us joy. Growing old is not all bad. Wisdom is precious (and we certainly would not want 40-year olds frolicking naked in the stream). But still we can learn to maintain, or at least return to, some of the beautiful parts of our childhood such as these.

While we are on the topic of happiness, let’s take it one step further. You know what I have noticed about this thing? It is everywhere that Americans might not expect it to be. I am reminded of an article we read for American Government last semester. The author stated something to the effect of, “there is nothing transcendental about democracy.” Her point is a valid one. I am grateful to have been born and raised in the United States, and I would speculate that most people have the same feeling toward their own native land. But like all other countries, the U.S. is not perfect. Perhaps it is superior in some ways, but not all. I think the one area in which its superiority falls short is that of happiness. People flock to America with the ambition of realizing the American Dream. The American Dream? What is this thing? For most, it is unattainable. The ability to transcend social classes is largely a myth. But this is not the point. The point is that people have invested false hope in the American Dream. They believe that if they can acquire more wealth, then they will become happy. If only they hit the lottery, they will become happy.

I am not dismissing the importance of money. Indeed, money is necessary to live. Instead I am suggesting that our flaw is in the way that we view money. Money will not make us happy. Certainly the availability of money can lessen financial stress, but we do not need money in excess. Money in excess does not breed happiness. Happiness comes from another source of wealth, and that wealth is love. After all, what do we need in this life in order to survive? We need food. We need shelter. We need clothing. We do not need money. You see, we have convinced ourselves that an excess of money is the only way to achieve happiness. But how? Who is to say that we will not die tomorrow? If we were to die tomorrow, what would make you happy today? Certainly money would not matter to you at all. At least it would not matter to me. This is why we must live each day as if there is no tomorrow.

What accounts for the over-medication of Americans for conditions such as depression? Is it the faulty notion that happiness can be attained by the accumulation of wealth? Do people become depressed when they realize that this notion is flawed? Why is it that underdeveloped- and developing nations have lower rates of depression and medication than the U.S.? You might say that they are less educated, thus they are not aware that they are depressed. (This thought only briefly crossed my mind when one of the teachers I observed offered her students a rather unusual explanation of bipolar disorder.) You might say they are less medicated because they cannot afford medication. Both of these postulates might be true. But because they are not aware of this thing called depression, its existence is minimal in comparison.

Awareness is often a good thing, but sometimes it hinders a human being’s development and prevents them from realizing their true potential. If this lack of awareness stems from the lack of capital, then so be it. It is better this way, is it not? Suppose that money allows people to be educated; educated people are made aware of this construct called depression; people believe they have this condition simply because it “exists”; people medicate themselves for this condition they might or might not have. And in the midst of all this, happiness is lost.

In short, my point is this. Would you rather be rich and miserable, chasing an unattainable dream? Or would you prefer to be poor and happy? This is something one must decide for oneself. A friend of mine recently shared a story with me about a man from Mexico who worked at a small home business in his village. He liked working here because he did work that he enjoyed doing, and he could play with his children whenever it suited him. Another man who was more educated and wealthy suggested that the other man go back to school, incorporate his business, make millions, invest it in the stock market, and become rich. “Imagine how happy you would be,” encouraged the rich man. “What would you do if you had all of this money?” he asked. The man replied that he would go back to his village where he could do the work he enjoyed and he would play with his children whenever it suited him – the same thing he was doing just now. So you see, even though the man did not have as much capital as the rich man, he was the wealthier man all along. He knew what made him happy, and he had it.

Some of the happiest people I know are from underdeveloped and developing countries, or even communities in the U.S. where poverty in terms of money is rampant, but where poverty in terms of happiness is virtually non-existent. We invest so much of our energy into the accumulation of material wealth when we should instead be focusing our energy on attaining something far more transcendental, something intangible. Happiness is not something that can be bought. It is something that comes from within, something that begins with you loving yourself.

Education is not a bad thing. In fact, it is liberating. But education alone is not sufficient enough to attain happiness. At some point, one must realize that just because one is educated does not mean that he must be rich, or that being rich will make one happy. There are better things to do with one’s money than to spend it on material things, or even to save it in the hopes that one might live to see another day. It is a myth that only the richest of the rich are influential in this world. It is the truth that actions speak louder than words. So speak with your actions. Begin now.

Simplify, simplify, simplify.