2016 Listener’s Day on RRI
English Section listener contributions to our special Listener's Day show
România Internațional, 06.11.2016, 01:01
“The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others.
Mittul Kansal, India
“Dear RRI, Where do the happiest people live? This is quite an interesting question and the answer is far from obvious. Existing rankings try to measure variables like incomes, health services, education, life expectancy and security. However, happiness is so much more; it’s a feeling that can be shared by rich or poor wherever they live. It is undoubtedly a lot easier to feel happy if you don’t have to worry about your economy or your health. True happiness is a strong feeling of satisfaction with your life and the people who surround you. It’s when you wake up each morning to a new day of pleasurable work and other activities. In fact, it is an attitude to life generally. Many people find happiness in a religious context when you rely on a loving God to take care of all your problems or anxieties. As far as I know the kingdom of Bhutan is the world’s only country to measure the degree of happiness as part of the nation’s development process.
Christer Brunström, Sweden
“Dear friends! I have both seen on the internet and heard on the radio about this years Listeners Day! I must compliment you for choosing an important theme. “Where do the happiest people live? Denmark has many times been on the top together with the other Scandinavian countries in surveys concerning the luckiest people in the world, but generally I am not sure that we are luckier than other people of other nationalities. You get the answers you ask for!!! If you ask for free education, free hospitals, free schools, social benefits, daily security in home and job, high employment – no doubt Scandinavian countries will be on the top of the list. We have a rich society and relatively high feeling of security and solidarity among people, even that we are still lacking total equality between the sexes in payment possibilities to be promoted. Do two candidates have the same qualifications for a job, the man will get it. We are not a Hollywood-country, where you just have to hold out your hand, and banknotes fall into them. You have to work for life, you have to study hard to get an exam, you have to do your best to get a job. I think to be happy is a very individual feeling. It cannot be arranged, it cannot be bought, it cannot be given as a gift. It is something that comes to you as pearl, that goes into your memory box: A word, a day of sunshine, a big hug, an observation of children playing, a field filled with blooming daffodils, a person you love, a family that care. For me personally I could not explain happiness without my Christian faith, where it is obvious that everything in life is a gift. I remember seeing a small theatre play! It was about a man. He had everything in a luxury life. Just a word and he got what he wished to have: Drinks, beautiful ladies, entertainment, a new big swimming pool, but he became more and more bored, and at last he called his servants: If life is so boring, I wish I was in hell! The servant answered: “Where do you think you are?
Hans Verner Lollike, Denmark
“I think the happiest people live everywhere. I have lived in many places across the US and I’ve found happiness in each place I’ve lived. Each place has been unique and different so there was always something to enjoy about it. What makes me happy where I live? The fact I’ve got a good boss who respects me and treats me well and the people in town village I live in are genuinely nice people. Of course, a nice meal after a long day at work also helps in making me happy too!! 🙂
Paul Walker, USA
“The key to a happy life is having family and friends close by. This is what makes a place feel like home. With a family network nearby you have a willing helpful network who will lend you a missing ingredient when you are cooking, look after children when they are very young and parents when they are elderly. Unfortunately, it is harder and harder to experience this happiness in our modern world. Many families have members abroad. And yet the spirit of this home lives on in our hearts. We share it when we are in touch across the miles.
Jonathan Murphy, Ireland
“Hello Radio Romania team, I am very excited about the 2016 Listener Day. I listen to your one hour program daily on my Tecsun PL660 on 11825 khz on 3:00 UTC on my QTH Delhi. This time you have come up with a very good question: “Where do the happiest people live?
We in east think that western countries are the places where the happiest people live. India and other developing and poor nations are struggling for development. People here struggle for daily bread. The inner peace and happiness is thus counted by the money you possess. So here our perception of happiness is money and material happiness. But I think the word “happiness constitute more than being rich and monetary possessions. That is why many people from west are looking for inner peace and happiness in the east by devoting themselves to spirituality.
From my point of view, happiness is self-sufficiency. If people are self-reliant and satisfied in whatever they have then the people of that area will be most happy. I firmly believe that the self-reliant community will not compare what I have and what others have. This will bring eternal happiness. No comparison, No tension in mind to have the things which others have.
Mahesh Jain, India
