Bhutan is a tiny piece of land in Asia very close to the Himalayas. Its total population is 700 k inhabitants and has the size of Switzerland. Bhutan is the last bastion of Himalayan Buddhism since Ladakh was destroyed and later absorbed into India. Tibet invaded by China and same story with Sikkim
Bhutan was the first country in the world to ban smoking and the government provides counselling and tutoring to help people with this habit. Two thirds of the country are forested with plenty National Parks. Timphu, its capital city, does not have any traffic lights and there are no accidents! and once one was installed and had to be removed. The inhabitants saw it as unnecessary since they easily give way to other cars. In this country 100% of the people practice daily meditation and their major political party is called the Peace and Prosperity Party
Amazing Bhutan
The most amazing peculiarity of this country however, is their definition of prosperity. They invented the term Gross National Happiness (GNH). The King implemented the indicator to build an economy to serve people and their spiritual values. This indicator, the GNP, is a unifying vision for Bhutan’s five-year planning process guiding the economic and development plans of the country. The GNH has four pillars:
- sustainable development
- environmental protection
- cultural preservation
- good governance
It means the government and the people understand that a growing economy without happiness makes no sense. Human beens want to be at peace, feel joy and abundant not just rich
Bhutan has succeeded where western nations have failed. They are creating a new order, a new definition of prosperity and richness that includes its people, their land and the environment preservations and the spiritual legacy of the country. Social harmony as they call it
The future of Bhutan
Only the future will tell if GNH is the way to an enlightened society. Up to now we can tell their way of doing things has the world wondering if this little nation possesses the key to human challenges such as achieve happiness, create prosperity and peace, foster development and growth for future generations whilst respecting traditions
From bhutanese people we can learn real richness is just not about money. For them, abundance includes elements such as: protecting our land, respecting our values, grow respecting the roots and traditions and having a spiritual life. Being authentic can do more for our happiness and prosperity than just producing money. A happy country begins with happy persons
Lets start by finding our own elements of prosperity and happiness to integrate them in our own life plan just as the buthanese people did