“Think about it this way. It’s no wonder why Danes are so happy, they have an obscenely high quality of life. Yes it’s expensive here, but it’s Denmark, it’s worth it. I don’t mind paying more for a coffee here because it means the person serving it doesn’t hate me or has a crappy life. Everyone is paid a descent wage, everyone is looked after, and everyone pays their taxes, just as I pay mine. And if we all have marginally less money to buy less stuff that w e really don’t need as a result, well , I’m starting to think it’s a deal worth making. It’s like Buddha teaches us, pontificates American Mom one rainy afternoon, Buddha, God I love Americans, I think, if it’s not Oprah it’s Buddha, sure, he teaches that desires are inexhaustible, that the satisfaction of one just creates another, like a cell multiplying. I do want to give a good cynical British eye roll in response to American Mom, but in-spite of myself I found I agreeing with her, living Danishly has given me a glimpse of a meaningful way of being and an understanding of how life should be, or at least how it could be, and I like it, of course it’s not perfect, yes the winters suck and I wish that Denmarks hours were a little more evenly distributed throughout the year so that we wouldn’t be living in Mordor in winter and under the midnight sun for three months in the summer, but we are where we are.”
Danes take 60 minutes for lunch everyday, they learn languages for fun
they move naturally – walk and bike, they have pets, they pursue spirituality, they are sex positive, they have a disregard for traditional notions of success, their children are taught critical thinking, they pursue happiness and talent, they eat well, healthy and organic, they have seasonal local food diet, communal meals, they are also lucky with the seratonin transportive gene, they take huga seriously. There are bad thins as well, of course, they take health for granted, and their cultural isolaton and similarity creates distrust towards people who are not similar to them.