How To Find Happiness

I just finished reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner for our September book discussion. What a breath of fresh air, this book! This book, a non-fiction account of Weiner's travels to several different countries in search of the happiest places/people in the world, is not a sappy assortment of deludedly fond remembrances, nor is it a self-help book. Rather, it approaches the notion of happiness skeptically: "Is happiness a real, quantifiable state of mind?" Weiner, a self-described "grump," wonders.

Consequently, in writing about his travels to Switzerland ("Happiness Is Boredom"), Bhutan ("Happiness Is A Policy"), Moldova ("Happiness Is Somewhere Else"), Thailand ("Happiness Is Not Thinking"), India ("Happiness Is A Contradiction"), and beyond, Weiner comes across as an incredibly approachable person-- friendly, thoughtful, open, relatively down to earth, and not particularly happy or particularly unhappy-- the sort of guy you'd enjoy chatting with over dinner and a beverage.

I won't ruin the book for you by telling you what, ultimately, he concludes about happiness, but I will say that the book got me thinking about the relationship between a person's physical location and his or her happiness. I think that Missoula is one of those towns that people choose to settle down in because of its strong sense of community and because of the natural beauty that surrounds it. What do others think? What, would you say, is the Missoula community's general attitude towards the pursuit of happiness? Relatively speaking, are we a happy community? Are you happy? Why, or why not?

Eric Weiner's website: http://www.ericweinerbooks.com/content/index.asp