Lifestyle | Live Happy

Arianna Huffington: Balanced Media Mogul

Arianna Huffington is Redefining Success

Arianna Huffington is passionate about success. And while success has been a focal point throughout her life, she sees it much differently now than she did even a few years ago. Today, her view of success is tied closely to happy living: “Well-being is now going to be in the center of my life, not on the edges.”Speaking at the International Symposium of Contemplative Studies in Boston in November, Arianna shares how she has accomplished the far-reaching goals she set for herself and did it in a way that helped define many of the major topics of our lifetime: women’s roles in the workplace and the world, the changing nature of political leadership and 21st-century innovations in media. Now, she has turned her attention to living a good and happy life.Playing the game of life“We have, if we’re lucky, about 30,000 days to play the game of life,” Arianna says in a recent interview. “How we play it will be determined by what we value. A huge part of that is our relationship with time. So for me, a well-lived life is one where there is ample time for the people in my life who truly matter, time to pause and wonder at the world, and time to delight in the mysteries of the universe, as well as the everyday occurrences and small miracles that fill our lives.”In her 2014 best-selling book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, she asks us to consider redefining success beyond the timeworn standards of money and power: “To live the lives we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives we settle for, we need a third metric, a third measure of success that goes beyond the two metrics of money and power, and consists of four pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving.”The value of failingArianna credits her mother with instilling optimism and resilience. “My mother taught us that failure is not the opposite of success, it is the stepping stone to success.”She lives that life philosophy firsthand. After graduating from Cambridge, she wrote a successful book, The Female Woman. But 36 publishers rejected her second book, and a seven-year relationship ended shortly after that.“By about rejection 25, you would have thought I might have said, ‘Hey, you know, there’s something wrong here. Maybe I should be looking at a different career.’ ” Instead she walked into a bank in London where she was living at the time and asked for a loan. “Even though I didn’t have any assets, the banker—whose name was Ian Bell—gave me a loan. It changed my life, because it meant I could keep things together for another 13 rejections and finally, an acceptance.Getting up one more time“In fairy tales there are helpful animals that come out of nowhere to help the hero or heroine through a dark and difficult time, often helping them find a way out of the forest. Well, in life, too, there are helpful animals disguised as human beings, as bank managers like Ian Bell, to whom I still send a Christmas card every year. So, very often, the difference between success and failure is perseverance. It’s how long we can keep going until success happens. It’s getting up one more time than we fall down.”Arianna moved to New York, where she continued writing books and magazine articles. After weathering ups and downs in love, career and even politics, Arianna co-founded The Huffington Post in 2005.The site was not an immediate success; it faced a storm of negative reviews, including one particularly harsh but memorable criticism from LA Weekly’s Nikki Finke, who called it “the movie equivalent of Gigli, Ishtar and Heaven’s Gate rolled into one.”Yet Arianna refused to be diverted by the criticism. Today, she says that backlash gave her the incentive to persevere. The truth is, we are always going toget bad reviews, she says. The answer is to rely on our personal resilience and continue our journey. In her case, the critics may remain, but the site has gained respect, credibility and worldwide recognition.The most powerful blog in the worldIn 2012, The Huffington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for a 10-part series on wounded veterans, becoming the first commercially run digital site in the United States to win the prize. It also has been ranked No. 1 on the Most Popular Political Sites by eBizMBA Rank, and The Observer, a British newspaper, named it the most powerful blog in the world.“At some point, I learned not to dread failure,” she says. “I strongly believe that we are not put on this earth just to accumulate victories and trophies and avoid failures but rather to be whittled and sand-papered down until what’s left is who we truly are.“My advice to those facing critics or challenging times is to refrain from adding our own self-criticism into the mix. This means dealing with the voice I call the obnoxious roommate living in our head, the voice that feeds on putting us down and strengthening our insecurities and doubts.”Refocusing attentionArianna now uses her media platform to showcase her happiness discoveries. The Huffington Post regularly includes news on happiness and how to achieve it. It’s a journey she embarked on after receiving a serious wake-up call in 2007.Exhausted from the relentless hustle of running a booming media enterprise, Arianna collapsed while at her computer in her home office. As her head hit the desk, she injured her eye, broke her cheekbone and ultimately realized she needed to find a new approach to her hectic life. She returned to the meditation and yoga exercises her mother had shown her as a child. She says now, “I wish they had just told me, ‘You have civilization disease.’ ”That’s how she sees it today, she explained at the Boston symposium: If you are driven to focus only on wealth and power, you, too, might have civilization disease. “Our society is made of highly educated good people making bad decisions. It’s not that they’re not smart, it’s that they’re not wise. We all have that wisdom in us,” she says. “I would never again congratulate someone for working 24/7. It’s like coming to work drunk.”Arianna is using her resources—such as books, speaking engagements and her media company—to help others learn how to adopt a lifestyle that encompasses well-being and wonder, wisdom and giving. She sees mindfulness as an important element in redefining success, in slowing down or even stopping the busyness of our lives, if only for a few important moments to begin each day.“The fact that there is now so much scientific exploration that builds on ancient wisdom is cause for great optimism,” she says. “It doesn’t matter why we start on this journey…at some point we’ll all realize that we’re bigger than our jobs.“However great your job is, you are more marvelous! Getting in touch with that magnificence is part of your journey.”Jan Stanley is a writer, coach and speaker who has worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop leaders and with many people to help them find meaning and joy in work and life.

Lifestyle

The Bite of Spring

This bright, colorful zucchini salad is not only good-looking—it’s good for you. Rich in antioxidants such as alpha- and betacarotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, green and yellow summer squash are a low-calorie boon to your system. If you eat the skin, you get a boost of dietary fiber in addition to a generous dose of potassium and vitamin C. Pair this recipe with crusty bread and a glass of crisp white wine, and serve as a delicious starter, or even a light lunch. Summer Squash, Herb and Feta Salad Serves 4 ½ small red onion, sliced into very thin rounds 2 green zucchini, trimmed, sliced paper-thin lengthwise with a vegetable peeler or mandoline 2 yellow squash, trimmed, sliced paper thin lengthwise with a vegetable peeler or mandoline ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Juice of ½ lemon Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste About 12 basil leaves, minced About 12 leaves fresh mint, minced About 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese Good-quality balsamic vinegar for sprinkling on top (optional) Instructions Place the onion slices in a bowl with ice water and let sit for about 10 minutes to take out some of the bite. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, squash and onion slices; olive oil; lemon; salt and pepper and basil and mint so all the vegetables are coated and seasoned. Have ready four plates and place a quarter of the vegetables on each plate. Top with the crumbled feta and drops of good-quality balsamic vinegar, if using. Serve right away. Brigit Binns is the author of 29 cookbooks, though she may have lost count. Her latest, Eating Up The West Coast, is available wherever books are sold.

Lifestyle

Good Morning America is Happy at Work

Imagine getting excited about the alarm clock ringing before 4 a.m. because it’s time to get up for work. Not so appealing? Don’t tell that to the cast and crew of ABC’s Good Morning America.Since 1975, stylists, lighting and stage crew members, production staff and the on-air personalities America tunes in to for the news headlines of the day have been enduring early start times, long hours and a rigorously demanding pace. And they all say there’s no place they’d rather work.“I still get chills,” says Robin Roberts, co-anchor. “Being able to say, ‘Good morning, America’ and to know we’re starting people’s days makes me incredibly happy. I really look forward to that part of my day.”The teamDozens of journalists have said those words while sitting behind the anchor desk Robin currently shares with co-hosts George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer, Amy Robach and Ginger Zee. And even though the current team has only been together for two years, their cohesive rhythm and ease with each other makes it seem like they’ve spent a lifetime working—and playing—together.Lara compares the supportive environment on set to that of a basketball team. “If one of us doesn’t have the shot, you have the confidence in each other to pass the ball and let a teammate shoot. We’ve got great chemistry.” Which is a good thing, as Robin adds, “We spend as much, if not more, time with each other some days as we do with our spouses and partners, children and pets.”All that devotion to the show has paid off. Good Morning Americahas earned numerous awards and nominations and frequently wins the television ratings war, repeatedly outperforming the competition in weekly polls.Mutual trust and admirationThe secret to their success: trust. “This can be a cutthroat industry. But there’s no stepping on, or over each other, here,” Robin says. “I can look at George and know what he’s thinking. We have a cadence, and I know when to stop talking because he wants to chime in or vice versa. We all truly trust eachother and know everyone has each other’s back.”George agrees that “mutual respect” is one of the team’s strongest assets. That trust has gotten members of the cast through good times, like the births of numerous cast and crew members’ children and grandchildren as well as Ginger’s wedding in August 2014. It’s also bolstered morale in some challenging times, too.Challenging timesAfter publicly battling breast cancer in 2007 while remaining on-air, Robin was diagnosed in 2012 with myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder that affects production of blood cells. She required several rounds of chemotherapy to prep for a bone marrow transplant that kept her away from the anchor desk for several months while she rebuilt her health and strength.But she never felt far from her work family, and that connection to both her co-workers and job helped her through some tough days.“In the hospital or at home, I could turn on the TV and they’d give me a shoutout. I felt their love. But the respect and support at work goes deeper than that,” she says. “When I announced I was ill again and that I had to step away from the show to focus on my fight, one of my colleagues stepped in and said ‘our fight.’ I get weepy when think about that, that level of true support and genuine caring.”***Read the entire article on the cast of Good Morning America, and a whole special section on Happiness at Work, in the June issue of Live Happy magazine.

Lifestyle

5 Secrets to a Happy Morning

Midway through Monday mornings, the drama in my house starts to escalate to near-hysteria. The 4-year-old is melting down because she didn't get to choose her own outfit; the 18-month-old is getting into the magic markers; the 6-year-old tries to do some homework but can’t find a pencil.Adults fare no better. My husband is getting antsy because he needs to get to work 10 minutes ago but is waiting for me, while I’m still in the shower after dealing with aforementioned 18-month-old.It's no wonder that by the time the last child is tucked into school, I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling like I've just caught the last flight home from a war zone.Not all days are this rough; Mondays certainly have a rawness that comes with the transition between relaxed weekend and hectic week. But over the years I have learned five key things that will get anybody's morning off to a happier start:1. Make time for quiet contemplationI know it seems counterintuitive when we are already pressed for time, but 10 minutes of mindfulness or exercise most mornings will make everything start more smoothly. For some people it's 10 minutes of meditation, for others, quiet time for prayer, and others still, a run through the park. Yes, you probably have to get up earlier, but give it a try for a week and you’ll see what a difference it makes.2.Go to sleep earlier the night beforeI know, I know, evenings are when we unwind—often the only time of day when we don't feel like we're running from one thing to the next. And yet, sometimes that last hour of staying up is a little gratuitous. If you find yourself dragging in the late afternoon, consider skipping a TV show in favor of extra Z’s. Your body will thank you.3.Identify things that unhinge you and do them the night beforeHave you noticed a consistent morning time-suck? Perhaps it's packing lunches, finding a presentable outfit, or helping your kid gather her sports gear.Whatever it is, chances are pretty good you can get it done more efficiently if you take care of it the night before, leaving you to focus on those things that genuinely need to happen in the morning.4.Get the kids with the programI'm not above making a good bribe if it means cooperative kids and peace among all the family members. Do you have a kid who drags her heels getting dressed? She can watch a show or play outside if she gets ready with enough time to spare. The oldest who wakes up early? He can help get breakfast for his younger siblings.5. Make yourself an excellent breakfastThis last is my favorite, since it's all about creating a pleasurable moment in the midst of a hectic morning.What makes for an excellent breakfast? If a cup of coffee and a bowl of bran cereal sounds good to you, you’re good to go. But I prefer something a little more substantial—and delicious.Really good bread, toasted and slathered with mashed avocado, salt, and pepper gives you a boost of protein to start your day. A scrambled egg with cheese and a buttered whole-wheat English muffin does the same. A bowl thick with real oatmeal, drizzled with some deep dark maple syrup and a pat of salty butter—what could be better?Lesley Porcelli is a freelance writer living in New York. She was formerly an editor at Gourmet magazine.

Try these three delicious recipes that use fresh spring produce.

Lifestyle

The Flavors of Spring

Eating with the seasons gives our lives a welcome rhythm and variety, a sense of deep-seated wellbeing. What better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than to feast on the special fresh ingredients it brings? After the heavy, starchy root vegetables of winter, the vibrant green veggies of spring are just what our bodies crave.Fresh Pea Soup with Mint and Garlic CroutonsServes 4–6For the soup:3 cups shelled English peas (about 3 pounds peas in the pod)Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper2 tablespoons olive oil6 green onions, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced2 cloves garlic, minced4 cups chicken stock1 bunch fresh mint, 2 sprigs reserved, the rest tied with kitchen string1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped1/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream, plus more (optional) for servingFor the Garlic Croutons (optional):Stale sliced baguette1 peeled garlic cloveOlive oil sprayBring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add the peas. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, then immerse in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. (Alternatively, cook the peas with a cup of water in a microwave for 5 minutes. If using frozen peas, reduce cooking time to 3 minutes.) Set cooled peas aside.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the stock, potato, and a large pinch of salt, and add the bundle of mint. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potato is tender, 15–18 minutes. Discard the mint bundle.Pluck the leaves from the remaining mint sprigs and slice them thinly. Add half the mint, half the crème fraîche, half the peas, half the potatoes, and half the broth to a food processor and puree. Pour into a bowl and repeat to puree the remaining ingredients. Return the soup to the saucepan, season generously with salt and pepper, and reheat briefly. Serve with garlic croutons, if desired, and/or a dollop of crème fraîche.To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the stale baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Rub each with garlic and spray with olive oil. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven, flip the slices with tongs, spray again with olive oil, and toast for 5 minutes more.Orange Beef & Asparagus Stir-FryServes 41/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice1/2 cup beef or chicken stock3 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons mirin or sake2 teaspoons cornstarch1 teaspoon brown sugarSriracha sauce, chili oil, or other hot sauce to taste3/4 pound flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain into 2-inch-long strips2 tablespoons peanut oil or grapeseed oil1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces1 yellow onion, thinly slicedZest of 1 orange1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced2 cloves garlic, minced1/2 cup roasted cashew piecesSteamed rice for servingIn a large measuring cup, combine the orange juice, stock, soy sauce, mirin, cornstarch, sugar, and Sriracha. Stir with a fork to dissolve the cornstarch and sugar, and set aside.Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the asparagus and stir-fry until nearly tender, 2–4 minutes, depending on thickness. Add the onion, gingerroot, and garlic and stir-fry until the onion is translucent. Remove the vegetables to a bowl.Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the beef. Stir and toss until just barely still pink. Add the reserved vegetables, cashews, and orange juice mixture (after giving it a quick stir) and the zest. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Serve at once over steamed rice, passing additional hot sauce at the table.Grilled Zucchini Salad with Thai FlavorsServes 4Yogurt Dressing1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro2 tablespoons minced red onionZest and juice of 1 lime2 tablespoons rice vinegarKosher salt and freshly ground pepper2 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon jarred Thai green curry paste1 pound zucchini (3 small), halved lengthwise1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded1/2 head butter lettuce, tornTo make the dressing, in a large measuring cup, combine the yogurt, cilantro, red onion, lime zest and juice, and vinegar. Stir with a fork, taste and season with salt, and set aside.Preheat a grill or the broiler to high heat. In a large bowl, mix the olive oil and curry paste. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper and toss with your hands to coat. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Grill or broil the vegetables until just charred on the edges but still firm, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and let cool. Slice the zucchini crosswise and on a slight angle into 1-inch pieces. Scrape the loose skin from the pepper (you needn’t remove it all) and slice into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Put the vegetables in a large shallow bowl. Pour most of the dressing over and toss to coat. Add the lettuce and remaining dressing and toss again. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve right away.For more spring recipes, pick up the June issue of Live Happy magazine.

People

Lisa Loeb Is Staying Positive

Lisa Loeb is many things to many people: To her fans, she’s a relatable, folksy musical artist; to her children, Lyla, 5, and Emet, 3, she’s a mom; to the beneficiaries of her nonprofit organization, The Camp Lisa Foundation, she’s a blessing. Most of all, to just about anyone and everyone she meets, she’s a genuinely happy person, and it’s that authentic glow that fuels all of the other aspects of her life. While it may seem the pop star is beaming with positivity now, it wasn’t always this way for Lisa. A childhood of searching “I feel like I spent a lot of time when I was younger being depressed, having my teenage angst, thinking about life, and being frustrated,” Lisa says. “I had a very happy childhood; my parents were great. I was not wanting for anything. I think that there’s just something in me that wasn't satisfied.” But Lisa didn’t ever stay down for too long. Looking on the brighter side “As I went along, I realized there were different ways that you could look at the world to see the brighter side of things,” she explains. “I try to be more of a glass half-full person than a glass half-empty. As I grow older, I continue to get a sense of being satisfied.” According to Lisa, an early love of music—and, eventually, a career in it—sustained her happiness. Music pulls you out “There’s something very magical when you’re working with other people and you're collaborating,” she says. “There’s something that makes you happy when you connect with people. Actually, just singing a sad melody can actually make you feel better. It’s like a way to digest those negative feelings… it pulls you out of it. Luckily with my work, I have that.” Camp Lisa On her second children’s album, Camp Lisa, she teamed up with some notable guests, including Nina Gordon, Jill Sobule and Steve Martin on banjo, to pay homage to some of her fondest memories growing up at summer camp. Lisa gives a portion of the sales from the record to the foundation she created to help kids who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to go to summer camp. “Summer camp was super important to me growing up,” she says. “I was really committed to school, and making good grades and all those kind of things, but I felt like I learned more about myself as a person when I was at summer camp, and it was really fun. I wanted to share that experience with other kids who didn’t have that opportunity. I feel like I want to help as much as I can because I have a voice out there.” A voice out there For Lisa, keeping a 20 years-plus career in perspective also helps maintain her positive outlook. Realizing that she had a lot of help along the way, like having her chart-topping hit “Stay” from the Reality Bites soundtrack discovered through her friendship with actor Ethan Hawke, she never forgets to be thankful. “I’m definitely grateful to different people for helping me find my sound, for helping me like that with different connections that led to other things,” she says. “Just for people who really wanted to listen to music and buy it, people who told friends about it… I’m grateful for all that.”

Lifestyle

To Be Happy in Dubai

Happiness is an inside job in the UAE, where government officials have teamed up with happiness experts to try to boost the country’s standing as one of the happiest places on Earth. Aiming for the Top 10 in the World Happiness Report, the UAE has stepped up its focus on improving the lives of citizens by approving grants for education, employment and housing.Official language: ArabicLife expectancy: 77.09 yearsHappiness claim to fame: No. 14 on the “World Happiness Report.”Suad Alhalwachi was making a good salary when she realized the old adage is true—money can’t buy happiness. As an accounting professional, she made excellent money but knew something was missing. So she quit her job and launched Education Zone, an educational consulting firm that specializes in helping students achieve their scholastic goals.'Happy' comes from insideChanging careers made Suad, who lives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, realize that being happy was something that came from within her instead of from a paycheck. Giving hope and guidance to students keeps her happy and motivated, says the grandmother of two. And it allows her to combine her passion for learning withprofessional development.“I am not wealthy enough to have achieved all my dreams yet,” she says, “but I still have what I want.” Although she lives in one of the wealthiest countries in the world— Dubai is known as the City of Gold—she measures her contentment by counting blessings, not acquisitions.Counting blessingsAmong those blessings are her 2-year-old granddaughter, who loves playing with makeup, “so I let her apply makeup on my face. I look like a clown at the end, but I enjoy being her clown!” She also has a 7-month-old grandson whom she enjoys pushing in his stroller through the park: “He loves to watch the cats and birds.”She revels in these simple pleasures but acknowledges her life would be easier if she had more money: “It would help me pay off my mortgage faster, grow my company bigger, build a better future for my children and grandchildren and even do more charity works.” However, she chooses to focus on what she has right now. “I believe if everyone learns to find joy in their everyday living, they will develop an optimistic attitude toward life and be happy.”An example of joy and resilienceBorn and raised in Bahrain, Suad and her 12 siblings learned their most important life lessons from their mother, who never learned to read or write, something her children didn’t know until they were older. “She never grumbled about it. In fact, she managed to make us read our assignments to her, and she would even sense out that we did not read it correctly and then tell us it did not sound correct to her.”She also taught them, by example, to approach tasks joyfully and without complaint. “She happily did the entire chores at our home; she raised us, taught us, baked for us, sewed our cloths, painted our house, made curtains for the home, and this list is endless, but she never complained.”Cherish small thingsInspired by her mother’s example, Suad learned to cherish the small things. She says her mother “taught us an important lesson: that life is never given on a plate to anyone. Therefore, be thankful for even the smallest thing you have because many others across the world are less fortunate.”Suad says the best way to experience happiness is by helping those in need. It is something that is deeply ingrained in her, and while she sees her mission in education as one way to help eradicate poverty, she feels she must do more, so she and her family sponsor the education of five small children from an orphanage in Iraq.“We are also helping poor Bahraini artists in promoting their work,” she says, explaining that she created an organization called The Curators to help promote the work ofstruggling artists. “Art is my passion. I thought if I spend time [with artists] and help them advertise their art, people will buy it and their life will shift to the better. Now we’re helping them sell their art. This gives us immense pleasure.”Click here to read more about happiness around the world.

Lifestyle

Happiness is a Choice

As one of the world’s least-developed countries, Malawi has a low life expectancy, high infant mortality and a 74 percent poverty rate. Yet it is dubbed “the warm heart of Africa” and topped Forbes magazine’s 2010 list as the African country with the happiest people.Researchers say that happiness comes from its relative calm, peaceful environment, which allows the government to spend its limited resources on social or economic initiatives that positively affect the lives of Malawians.Official language: ChichewaLife expectancy: 59.99 yearsHappiness claim to fame: Named the happiest country in Africa by the World Database of Happiness and by Forbes; named one of the happiest places to visit by Lonely Planet.In the shadow of Mount Zomba, in the African country of Malawi, a young teacher named Mwaona Nyirongo has dedicated his life to helping his students reach new heights. Slender and gregarious, he lives and works in the eighth poorest country in the world, yet considers himself one of the happiest people on the planet. “I am not rich, but I am optimistic about life,” he explains. “I see possibilities everywhere and that helps me enjoy life and appreciate the love around me.”Growing up in the small town of Ntchenachena, where abject poverty, daily suffering and rampant HIV/AIDS infection were normal ways of life, he had no idea how desperate his situation was."I did not know life could be different"“The problems and deaths around me were what life was. I did not know life could be better or different,” Mwaona says. But when his father died unexpectedly, 12-year-old Mwaona went to live with an uncle who lived two hours away in Ekwendeni. Through his uncle, he met people who spoke of careers, education and life outside of Malawi. It was then that the young boy realized, “not everybody spends mornings without breakfast or sleeps without anything in the stomach.”As a teenager, he joined the Boy Scouts and was chosen to represent Malawi at the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Thailand in 2002. “What an eye-opener that was,” he recalls. “There were cellphones, Internet access, better hotels, a lot of food, better hospitals. Almost everything was way ahead of Malawi, and I started to feel extremely sorry for myself and my country.”A new awareness of the worldHis newfound awareness brought fascination but also generated pain and sadness because he was surrounded by so many things he could not have. “I realized my sadness was making me less productive, so I chose to cultivate happiness by focusing on the things that really matter,” says Mwaona, who currently teaches history and geographyat Mulunguzi Secondary School in Zomba and is pursuing a college degree in communications.He gives back to his community by volunteering with the organization Africa Classroom Connection, which builds much-needed classrooms in Malawi, and helps identify deserving students in need of scholarships.Giving backIn 2008, he raised money to organize a youth football league to keep young people involved and out of trouble. Although almost everyone in the village was destitute, the campaign was successful; neighbors gave what they could, and it was enough.“In Malawi, we believe in Ubuntu: ‘I am because we are.’ We are responsible for each other. Being involved in something big and honorable gives real meaning to my life and brings happiness,” he says. Now a scout leader himself, Mwaona surrounds himself with the love of relatives and friends. He enjoys Malawian dances like Malipenga and Beni, listens to American jazz standards and the music of The Beatles.Happiness is a choice“Happiness is a choice,” he says. “Our environment or situations do not make us unhappy. We make ourselves vulnerable and allow sadness in. We don’t need to wait for people to give us happiness; we must cultivate it on our own.”Click here to read more about happiness around the world.

Lifestyle

Secrets to a Happy Life

Japan has a relatively high standard of living and the world’s longest life expectancy, but according to Gallup, it ranks somewhere in the middle when it comes to happiness. The exception to that is found in Okinawa, an island archipelago that is home to a joyful and progressive population.Official language: JapaneseLife expectancy: 84.46 yearsHappiness claim to fame: Located in one of the famous “blue zones,” Okinawa is home to one of the oldest, happiest and healthiest populations on Earth.Okinawa Prefecture has Japan’s highest birth rate, and residents have been recognized for centuries for their health and longevity.In Okinawa, elderly women are respectfully called obah, or grandmother. Because residents of Okinawan communities feel deeply interconnected, an obah is everybody’s grandmother. A recent visit to Miyako Island revealed the secrets of three obahs’ long and joyful lives.Dance and WorkChikako Ikeda, 63, teaches traditional Okinawan dance. She divides her time between leisure, family time and work. From January to March, many families on the island help each other harvest sugarcane. Chikako works with her husband and daughter to prepare their sugarcane crops for sale.“There were not a lot of big typhoons last year, so sugarcane has grown pretty well,” she says. “Harvesting is pretty tough work and many people use big machines nowadays, but we prefer harvesting by hand.”A healthy dietAt the end of the day, the sugarcane is beautifully bundled and placed on the ground. At 5 p.m. they are back home and Chikako starts to prepare dinner while the others take baths. Eating well-balanced meals is one of the reasons for long life in Okinawan people. Meals include many kinds of green vegetables, seafood and pork with low salt content. Chikako says,“Working hard and eating well are the two keys for good health.” While her family enjoys their meal, she leaves the house and goes next door. Four evenings a week she teaches dance class. Her 26 students are all housewives age 50 to 77. After the lesson, she smiles and says, “The most important thing in my life is family, of course. But when I am dancing with friends, I feel very happy.”Tea with FriendsKimiko Motomura is a charming 90-year-old. Kimiko shares a few details about her life as she drinks tea with her close friend Hatsue Nakama, who is 89.“I am very happy to have family and good friends here in Nishihara town. I take a walk in my neighborhood every day to chat with people,” Kimiko says. She loves singingOkinawan folk songs and is the chairperson of a choral group. She volunteers with a group that cleans the town hall and around local monuments, and she also teaches the Miyako dialect to children to preserve the island’s culture and history. She has 18 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. “I am at my happiest when family members come to see me, and we have a meal together,” Kimiko says.“The key to happiness is to open your heart and be friendly with everyone,” she says. She smiles and keeps waving in front of the entrance to her beautiful house until her visitors vanish from sight.Preserving the PastOn Miyako Island, there is a traditional hemp textile weaving called Miyakojofu. The cloth is known to last for three generations. To make it into f ne thread requires a high level of skill, and Yoshiko Akamine is one of the few people who can still do it. She is 94.With three of her great-grandchildren playing in the living room, Yoshiko shows how she does it. “I make thread little by little each day. At the end of the year I will get some money for it, and I am very happy to give it to my grandchildren on New Year’s Day.”People encountered on Miyako Island are cheerful, friendly, optimistic and kind. They advise an easygoing approach to life and promise good health and long life will follow.Click here to read about happiness around the world.

Lifestyle

Be Happy in this Short Life

Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist kingdom in the eastern Himalayas, has gained international recognition for its concept of “Gross National Happiness,” an alternative to the gross domestic product as a measurement of a country’s standing. Created in the 1970s by the fourth king of Bhutan, who said he was more concerned with the well-being of Bhutan citizens than the country’s economy, the concept has been studied and adopted by other countries.Official language: DzongkhaLife expectancy: 68.98 yearsHappiness claim to fame:Developed the Gross National Happiness Index, which uses several indicators, including socio-economic development, environmental conservation, preservation and promotion of culture, and governance to measure the overall happiness of its residents.The concept of time is suspended as you enter the circumambulatory pilgrim stream at the National Memorial Chorten in Thimphu, Bhutan. The monument is a daily touchstone for worshippers in the capital city; Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion here. The clang of a giant, wobbly prayer wheel bell rhythmically punctuates an explosive clap of pigeon wings. Pilgrims shuffle over cobblestone, whispering mantras while handling long strands of mala beads.Practice of the MindInside the chorten’s Tshokhang, or ritual hall, Lama Namgay, a senior monk, sits cross-legged in a darkened corner, his broad shoulders draped in the folds of his maroon and saffron robe.“To realize happiness, I had to meditate,” he says in his native Dzongkha through an interpreter. “That is when I found the nature of true contentment. “For me, happiness is achieved by calming the mind and freeing oneself of desires.”He was 7 years old when he joined the monastery body and continued with a decade of study and meditation training at Tango Buddhist College. He refers to a stint where he spent three years, three months, three weeks, and three days in complete meditative seclusion as the most satisfying and content period of his life.Click here to read more about the culture of Bhutan.Now, as a learned monk, he teaches novice monks, performs rituals for Bhutanese pilgrims and oversees daily operations at the National Memorial Chorten, a monument dedicated to the memory of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the third king of Bhutan.“To live this life, you often want more,” he says. “You want more cars, more houses. There is the feeling that the more materials you possess will lead you to happiness. Everything is impermanent. Once born, we have to die. It is a short duration. So, to dissolve your desires is very important. Train your mind and it will change your life.”To achieve more peace and well-being, Lama Namgay plans to retire from serving the monastery body and relocate to a remote place in the mountains to further immerse himself in meditation.Practice of the BodyIn the Paro Valley, an alloy-steel arrow whizzes 450 feet through the air. It just misses the target and punctures a haystack wall in a puff of dust. Seconds later, another arrow pierces a white wooden plank, inches shy of the bull’s-eye. A handful of men in knee-high socks erupt into cheers and begin to dance in slow circles, their bows lifted high in the air.Dorji is a native of Wangdi, in central Bhutan, and works as a tourist guide. As a boy collecting firewood in the forest, Dorji would take along his traditional bamboo bow and arrows. He has now graduated to an alloy-steel bow and takes great pride in the national sport of the Kingdom.“There is a feeling shared among all of us who compete that we are preserving our traditional culture. That brings me great happiness, as it keeps me connected to something that goes deeper than the sport itself,” Dorji says. “And to win the match is seen as an auspicious sign for the year to come!”Click here toread more about the archery of of Bhutan.Dorji explains that archery offers fierce competition, but it is also just good, clean fun. Tournaments require sustained physical strength and can often last eight hours. Dorji often practices at Changlimethang, the National Archery Stadium in Thimphu.“There is a focus that we must bring to these matches, but at the same time it is a form of tension relief,” he says. “It is a means of driving away the emotional stress that comes with our daily lives.”For Dorji, the sport seems to be the remedy. “From my perception, there is no real choice but to be happy in this short life. To be born into this human life, we have time to practice, to enjoy. The choice is in our hands.”Click here to read more about happiness around the world.

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