We've decided to give fashion a break this week and beat the winter blues by contemplating happiness, from 'good memories' jars, pictured on Instagram, to the 'City Life Index', published by Time Out magazine in London, others seem to be exploring it too. The top three happiness inducing factors identified by Londoners are: being in a new relationship, going on a date and earning more than 40k. Really?!!
In case you haven't heard about it, there's actually a charity called 'Action for Happiness" founded in 2010 by Richard Layard, Geoff Mulgan and Anthony Seldon. They bring together like-minded people from all walks of life and help them take practical action, drawing on the latest scientific research. Members of the movement make a simple pledge: to try to create more happiness in the world around them. This is the list they came up with:
In 2011, Academy Award nominated director Roko Belic explored the secrets of happiness. His documentary, simply entitled 'Happy', takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. It combines real life stories from around the world and powerful interviews with leading scientists in happiness research.
How about you? What makes you happy? A friend once answered beautifully: "the strong earthy smell that comes up after the first drops of rain". The joy of living in the countryside! Londoners are fortunate, we can always go to Hampstead Heath and feel it too!