Nature & Culture

Dalai Lama (2000) believes that seeking happiness «lies in our nature»: The desire or need to be happy knows no bounds. It is something that lies in our nature. As such, it needs no grounds and it is justified by the simple fact that it is something we rightly want out of our nature. One has also asked if happiness is as important in all cultures. The answer is that happiness is at the top of the wish-list in every country; It is more important than wealth and to come to heaven, and as important as love (Diener and Biswas-Diener, 2008)…what makes us richer has been costly. The wealth, or what has been the prerequisite for wealth, has reduced a quieter life, close and stable relationships, we are moving apart. A materialistic lifestyle has a negative connection with happiness (Hellevik, 2003). NEF (2016) has calculated values on Happy Planet Index for 140 countries. Highest ranks Costa Rica and a number of other countries in Latin America. The population of Costa Rica has high values for happiness and longevity, and they have low values of ecological footprints. Norway has very high values of happiness and longevity, but also of footprints. In total, Norway is ranked twelfth and therefore highest among European countries, but closely followed by Albania. The United Kingdom is at thirty-fourth place, Canada number eighty-five and the United States number 108.