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By: Katricia Adams
Life is short and there are no reasons to be sad, because even if we were rich, there would still be problems; we have to laugh at ourselves. These words of advice remind me of the upbeat Latin Americans whose seven countries ranked as the happiest in the world.
According to a recent report, “Prosperous nations can be deeply unhappy ones. And poverty-stricken ones are often awash in positivity, or at least a close approximation of it.”
http://www.weather.com/news/happiest-countries-20121221
In order, the world’s top 10 happiest countries are Panama, Paraguay, El Salvador, Venezuela,Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Out of these ten countries, seven of them are Latin American countries.
“Gallup Inc. asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries last year if they were well-rested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment. In Panama and Paraguay, 85% of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list.”
Some researchers were surprised at this ranking because they only focus on economic factors in people’s happiness. Though Panama is considered a very well-off country and therefore ranked near the top of the list of being the world’s happiest, Paraguay came in at a close second on the list while doing far worse than Panama by economic standards.
People in these poor Latin American countries are happy in spite of problems. “I'm happy because this is a country with many natural resources, a country that plays an important role in the world," said Carlos Martinez, a Panama City construction worker. "We're Caribbean people, we're people who like to celebrate, to eat well and live as well as we can. There are a lot of possibilities here, you just have to sacrifice a little more." http://www.weather.com/news/happiest-countries-20121221
The Latin Amercians have a positive outlook on life and feel that tough economic conditions is no reason to despair. Though they have plenty to mourn for they still manage to keep on moving on. The World Happiness Report has also found that happiness is on the rise. http://www.ibtimes.com/are-worlds-happiest-countries-latin-america-956178
These Latin American countries and their positive outlooks on life really remind me of a quote from Leo Tolstoy: “If you want to be happy, be.”
And they also bring to mind a quote from Cynthia Nelms: “Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.” Life waits for no one, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. Right?
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