CHooSING HAPPINESS
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Everyone wants to be happy, but how and where you find your bliss is far from universal.
For International Day of Happiness, we're contemplating a few of the ways cultures around the world define, pursue, and find happiness.
(India) JUGAAD This Hindi word describes an approach to solving problems that uses unconventional methods to devise solutions when resources are limited. Jugaad can be a solitary pursuit or a community endeavor where collaboration and teamwork are applied to a shared challenge. If you’ve ever found satisfaction by tapping into your creativity and resourcefulness to hack a problem, you’ve experienced the joy of jugaad.
(China) WU WEI Translated as ‘without effort’, this Taoist practice is about allowing outside forces to work through you without pushing back against them. Think of wu wei as the art of letting things happen or going with the flow. Painting or drawing; unplugging from technology; or listening to a friend with 100% attention are all great ways to let go of your effort (and your ego) and feel happier for it.
– Jane Doe, 3rd-Gen of family-owned AvocaDoe
“We pride ourselves on our sustainability initiatives.
It was heartbreaking to discard food that took a lot of effort to harvest, and might’ve nourished someone in need. RAD ensures we get more food into our customers’ hands and waste less.”
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Youth participate in a solidarity march from a refugee camp in Malawi, flagging their right to access information and connection online.
Children are most happy when they receive love and care and have opportunities to play and interact with each other.
At this childcare centre in Kampala, Uganda, Plan International promotes early childhood care and development (ECCD) that is free from gender bias and ensure that children's rights to healthy development are respected, protected and promoted.
Photographer Henry Ponce’s photo titled ‘El Pendulo de la Felicidad’ (The Swing of Happiness) won first place for Bolivia in the 2012 Because I’m a Girl Photo Contest and Exhibition.
In July 2012, Plan International Latin America, in partnership with the Spanish news agency EFE, launched a photography contest inviting professional photographers to capture their view on life and the exclusion of girls in Latin America.
Plan International Nepal launched the Art is Power initiative to showcase the creative work of girls between 11 and 17 in celebration of International Day of the Girl as part of the Girls Get Equal Campaign.
More than 200 girls attended art workshops in Jumla, Banke, Makwanpur, Sindhuli and Sunsari districts of Nepal where they created different types of artwork to express their feelings, emotions and desire for equal representation in society.
"Thank you for welcoming me here and helping me have a happy day," says Walter, a 13-year-old boy who has been attending Plan International’s child-friendly space in in Tumbes, a border crossing town for migrants from Venezuela entering Peru from Ecuador.
Four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, with 768,000 seeking refuge in Peru, according to UN figures.
Plan International teamed up with Clowns Without Borders to bring fun and laughter to children living in camps for people displaced by conflict in Nigeria.
Some of the children living in the camp were forced to flee their homes because of Boko Haram attacks leaving them with psychological scars. Others were born in the camp after their families fled violence – and have never lived anywhere else.
WU WEI means ‘without effort’
and is a Taoist practice of going with the flow.
(Japan) IKIGAI Ikigai is a person’s reason for being. Closely tied to the idea of purpose, ikigai is the thing that inspires you to leap out of bed in the morning. It could be family, a beloved hobby, participating in your community, or even going to work – which, in Japanese culture, is a source of joy, satisfaction and self-respect. To find your ikigai, think about what you love, what you’re good at, and what the world needs, and what you can be paid for... and how it could all converge.
(South Africa, Rwanda and Burundi) UBUNTU “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” This popular African proverb is a perfect example of ubuntu — a way of being in which your sense of self is shaped by your relationships with others. It’s a way of life that puts the community over the ego or individual. Next time you’re disagreeing with someone over how to move forward on an issue, practice ubuntu by working to find a resolution that serves the common good.
(Finland) HYGGE Finland is consistently ranked as a world leader in happiness. We assumed it was thanks to hygge, the decidedly Danish art of finding coziness in everything. And yet, insiders insist the Finns have another, less known secret to finding joy: Kalsarikännit, the comfortable and de-stressing practice of drinking alone at home in your underwear.
What brings you joy and makes you feel happy?
find joy in helping others with gifts of hope
The
CHOOSING HAPPINESS
read more
5 ways to cultivate joy from around the world
WU WEI
means 'without effort' and is a TAOIST PRACTICE of allowing outside forces to work
take a tour of some of our “Happy” programs
around the world
Words by Katherine Gougeon
Design by Linda Nguyen
Reading time: 7 minutes