How To Be Happy

If you’re reading this, it is likely that you think about local economies quite often. Whether you use that terminology or not, many of you in the Canadian food movement are focused on the idea of localisation to some degree. Probably you think about it in terms of its effect on the environment (both locally and globally), on the local economy, on public health and on community development. But how often do you think about it in terms of making yourself and your community happier?

Sure, we all recognise on some level that local economies make for healthier communities and that healthy communities make for happier people, but how often do we think about happiness itself on a practical, rather than philosophical, level? And not just our own happiness but that of our neighbours as well? The answer for most of us is surely if not never, then not enough. And that is just what Helena Norberg-Hodge and her film The Economics of Happiness would have us do.

If you were not one amongst the lucky 250-or-so people packed into the William Doo Auditorium at the University of Toronto for the screening tonight, I urge you to watch this film. It discusses many of the important issues most of us are involved with: local food, climate change, public policy – but most importantly, and related to all of these issues and many more, the economics of happiness. The film presents the problem: globalisation is creating division (through comparison and competition), rather than unity; is tearing apart communities; and is the root cause of the economic, environmental and spiritual crises we face today. Our measures of success for society are flawed (after all, war, cancer and oil spills all contribute to the growth of GDP). The solution, the film argues, is just the opposite of the problem (seems obvious): localisation. What we truly strive for in life, from the time we are babies, is to feel loved, accepted and supported; our attempts to fit in socially, often in commercial ways, are simply means to achieve these feelings. But these feelings are all easily found, and often taken for granted, in truly localised communities.

So what to do? How to get happier? Well, first of all, let’s ensure happiness is a more important scale for success than money. Luckily for many of you, Helena’s prime suggestion, the one she has found most effective, is local food. And it makes sense, right? Even in our society, so often completely disconnected, food still has the power to bring us together. So start a garden, connect with your food and with those you buy it from and share it with – and be happy.