Happiest places on Earth

The little boy looked to be about four or five years old and held tight to his mom’s hand with one hand and a worn Teddy Bear in the other. He held back a yawn, but kept his eyes fixed on the escalator. He seemed to be taking everything in.

When he couldn’t stand the waiting any longer, he asked, “Where’s daddy, mommy?”

“Keep looking, he’s coming soon, it won’t be long now.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the boy shouted and pointed to a group of travelers approaching the baggage pick-up. A large man, who I feel safe assuming was the boy’s father, picked up the boy and gave him a big hug.

In that moment, I was reminded why I love airports. 

Image by Kasuma by Pexels.

Hugs all around

Yes, I know it’s customary to complain about travel and the hassle that comes with it, everything from being crammed into seats that are frighteningly small to being verbally assaulted and sneered at by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. I get all that, but I love seeing the get-togethers in the Arrival Terminal. They never get old for me.

I’ve written about this before and I’m sure I’ll write about it again. The opening line from the movie Love Actually is spot on, “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”

Here’s what I mean: The travelers are generally excited to arrive, and their friends or family are glad to see them. When business travelers are met by limo or taxi drivers, they’re even excited to see their driver. Okay, it’s not Christmas morning happy, but it’s still “great, let’s get on our way happy.” 

Disney Corporation, of course, trademarked the slogan “The Happiest Place on Earth” for Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Walt Disney came up with the idea as a way to encapsulate the feeling of joy and wonder that he wanted visitors to experience at the park. I can’t argue with Disney’s marketing. They make a lot of kids happy, but I’m not sure they can beat the number of daily airport hugs. 

Surprising places

I’m fascinated by happy places. I’m so fascinated that I did a little homework. It turns out that Finland is supposedly where it’s at!

For the sixth year in a row, Finland ranked as the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report released in March. Finland and its neighbors Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway all scored well on the measures the report uses to rank countries by how happy their citizens claim to be: 

• Healthy life expectancy.
• GDP per capita.
• Social support.
• Low corruption.
• Generosity and people looking after each other.
• Freedom to make key life decisions.

Image by Roman Odintsov via Pexels.

Happiness closer to home

While I would love to hop in a plane and move to Finland, I’m not sure that I can convince my wife to move anytime soon, so I’ve been thinking about places in everyday life that make me happy. There are more than I thought.

Here’s a few of my happy places. 

–Walking on the beach. There’s nothing else like it. I find it hard to be angry with sand between my toes (even the really hot, hot sand that feels like it’s burning your soles of your feet. It still beats wearing work shoes and having to trudge into your job.)

–Standing in the middle of the woods. When the trees are tall and green and surround you, I find it hard to be gloomy. 

–The dinner table with family. To steal from a sign hanging above the entrance to our dining room: “The fondest memories are made while gathered ‘round the table.”

–A sunny day writing at my desk.

I’m going to keep looking for happy places and I’m going to keep smiling at the arrivals gate. Finally, I’m going to follow the advice of Groucho Marx who said: “I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

What makes you happy? How do you bring a bit of happiness into your day?