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Source:
Mike Jay’s 2008
Forecast
4. Happiness,
and compassion is
reconsidered as Religion returns to main street
This is a theme continued from my 2007
forecast because it is so leveraging to the throws of mankind.
People will take refuge in religion and the idea that
complexity will be managed by the mystical, mysterious and
spirits will fuel the return the religion by large numbers of
people.
-
Religion will re-aggregate the lost sheep.
People will return to religion to belong in tougher, more
uncertain times. If the current crisis (fall of 2008) is
as severe as it appears to be, it will wipe out the
standard of living of most of the middle class as we know
it, returning the middle class back to the fifties–and a
different approach to life.
-
However, there is some evidence to
indicate that striving for greater incomes continues to
drive increased happiness, so the idea that happiness is
directly related to something other than your income, may
be a fallacy. Perhaps religion will replace income as the
determinant of one’s happiness vector?
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Gross National Happiness
(GNH) is an attempt to define
quality of life in more holistic and psychological
terms than
Gross National Product.
The term was coined by
Bhutan‘s King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck in
1972 in response to criticism that his economy was
growing poorly. It signaled his commitment to building
an economy that would serve Bhutan’s unique culture
based on
Buddhist spiritual values. Like many moral goals,
it is somewhat easier to state than to define.
Nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for the
Five Year planning process and all the derived
planning documents that guide the economic and
development plans of the country.
While conventional development
models stress economic growth as the ultimate
objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on
the premise that true development of human society
takes place when material and
spiritual development occur side by side to
complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars
of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable
socio-economic development, preservation and promotion
of cultural values, conservation of the natural
environment, and establishment of good governance.
Posts that contain
Happiness Index per day for the last 30 days.
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| MAY 29, 2009 |
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The Happiest Salary |
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| According to this year’s Harris Poll
Happiness Index, 39% of Americans who
earn between $50,000 and $74,999 a year say they are
happy, making them the happiest of all income groups.
If you take out that middle-income group, money does
improve the probability of happiness. More people who
earn over $75,000 say they are happy than do those who
make less than $50,000. |
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| Source: The Harris Poll |
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