I read recently some observations of a balikbayan (i don't why he called them impressions since it's not his first time here) but he always get depressed seeing underfed, un-sheltered, un-clothed and unwashed people that is really part of Manila's landscape.
I have something for all of you who see and think the same:
The Happy Planet Index: An index of human well-being and environmental impact', moves beyond crude ratings of nations according to national income, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to produce a more accurate picture of the progress of nations based on the amount of the Earth's resources they use, and the length and happiness of people's lives.
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) strips the view of the economy back to its absolute basics: what we put in (resources), and what comes out (human lives of different length and happiness). The resulting Index of the 178 nations for which data is available, reveals that the world as a whole has a long way to go. In terms of delivering long and meaningful lives within the Earth's environmental limits - all nations could do better. No country achieves an overall 'high' score on the Index, and no country does well on all three indicators.
partial ranking with countries familiar to Filipinos:
1 Vanuatu
12 Vietnam
15 Sri Lanka
17 Philippines
23 Indonesia
31 China
32 Thailand
41 Bangladesh
44 Malaysia
48 Timor Leste
61 Austria
62 India
63 Brazil
64 Switzerland
66 Italy
70 Netherlands
76 Papua New Guinea
77 Burma
78 Belgium
81 Germany
84 Taiwan
87 Spain
88 Hong Kong
89 Saudi Arabia
91 Cambodia
94 New Zealand
95 Japan
98 Denmark
100 Brunei
102 Korea
108 UK
109 Laos
111 Canada
129 France
131 Singapore
140 Australia
150 USA
you may not agree with them but read the whole story here before you freak out.
I got interested in Vanuatu when the immensely popular "Survivor" series on TV landed on their shores.
Some explanations:
“People are generally happy here because they are very satisfied with very little,”
“This is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It’s a place where you don’t worry too much. The only things we fear are cyclones or earthquakes.”
more info about Vanuatu here.
as for me, I also believe someone (name escaped my memory) saying:
"Buhay dito sa abroad ay masarap ngunit mahirap; buhay sa pinas ay mahirap ngunit masarap!"
Island nations seemed too happy also affirming my own conviction--
Life's a beach!
Happiness is relative and is a state of mind.
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