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What is Happiness?

5 September 2009 39 Comments

happyphoto harbat: dito

Hello beautiful people of Barrio Siete! At sa mga girls na rin, hello sa inyo. Hahaha. Joke lang. Kamusta na kayo mga kaibigan?

Well, kung ako ang tatanungin niyo ay hindi boring na “I’m fine thank you how about you” ang isasagot ko. Ito palagi ang sagot ko kapag tinatanong kung kamusta na ako:

“Eto, pula pa rin ang hasang.”

Charing!

Anyway, napabigla ang pagsusulat ko nitong entry na ito dahil may nabasa akong article sa Forbes. Oo, sa maniwala kayo’t sa hindi ay nagbabasa ako ng Forbes. Hahaha!

May nilabas kasi silang listahan ng World’s Happiest Cities of 2009 at medyo gusto ko lang guluhin at intrigahin ang listahan na ginawa nila at kung bakit naging number 1 ang Rio de Janeiro at hindi pumasok ang ni isang ciudad dito sa Pilipinas.

According to Forbes:

“Ever since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio, the world has been fascinated with Rio de Janeiro. Popular perception of the city is infused with images of starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk, backed by imposing mountains and dark sea.

That view has propelled Rio to the top of our list of the world’s happiest cities. Famous for its annual Carnaval festival (starting Feb. 13 next year), the second-largest metropolis in South America finished first among 50 cities in a recent survey conducted by Simon Anholt, an author and policy adviser.

“Brazil is associated with all these qualities of good humor and good living and Carnaval,” says Anholt. “Carnaval is very important–it’s the classic image that people have of Rio, and it’s an image of happiness.

Bakeeeet?! Ano ba ang criteria nito? Survey? Botohan? Baka naman ni-hire ng mga taga-Rio ang services ni Janette Toral, Jena Isle at mga Chem bloggers kaya nanalo ang Rio as the Happiest City on Earth! Charing!

Dahil ba mahilig sila sa carnival ay considered happiest place na ito? Hoooooy! Maraming carnival sa Pilipinas taon-taon noh! 24/7 may pista. Two weeks ago, Kadayawan sa Davao. Last week sa Cagayan de Oro. Araw-araw sa Wowowee may pista at may namimigay ng pera! Tingnan niyo na lang ang buong probinsya ng Bohol kapag buwan ng Mayo. Fiesta araw-araw! At bakit tinaguriang city of Smiles ang Bacolod, dahil mahilig silang ngumiti. Hindi pa ba enough yun para maging happy place? At ito ang pinakamatinding proof kung bakit dapat iconsider tayo ng Forbes na happiest place on Earth, tingnan niyo na lang ang mga nakatira sa Malakanyang, kahit walang kinakain ang mga tao sa Payatas ay masaya pa rin si Gloria Arroyo at mga tuta niya na lumamon sa Le Cirque at the expense of taxpayer’s money! Kung hindi pa ba naman yun nakakaloka ay ewan ko na lang. Hahaha! Leche oo!

Basahin niyo na nga lang ang article tapos bumalik kayo dito para mag-comment.

Ito naman ang masasabi ko diyan.

Our country is a happy country despite threats in terrorism and national security, the massive and blatant corruption in the government (read: Gloria, Mike and Mikey Arroyo), the ever-changing weather conditions and catastrophes, the war in Mindanao, at ang lalong gumugulong usapan sa showbiz at pulitika, I am proud to say that we Filipinos still manage to smile, or laugh.

Ano ba kasi ang happiness? How do we measure it. Kung kuntento ka na sa buhay mo ay considered happy ka na rin ba? Kasi for me, happiness is being able to smile and be grateful of the life you have. To be able to share and bring joy to the people around you.

Laughter. Laughter makes us happy. Simple joys like eating mangga and bagoong, finishing the job on time, seeing Piolo Pascual on tv, and receiving a text from your crush. It creates an aura of positivity thus making life happy.

Ikaw, what makes you happy?

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is is the ‘gurl’ behind “The Misadventures of Mel Beckham”. ‘She’ graduated with a double major in Management and Entrepreneurship. ‘She’ grew up in the city but now lives in the bukid near barrio siete juggling work as a farm manager, office secretary, messenger, construction worker, housemaid, make-up artist and babysitter. Despite ‘her’ busy schedule, ‘she’ finds the time to blog in between work, and errands using ‘her’ primitive mobile phone. ‘She’ plans to take ‘her’ MBA soon but ‘her’ multiple jobs prevent ‘her’ from doing so unless going to school will get ‘her’ paid to pay for ‘her’ utangs. Before ‘she’ dies, ‘she’ hopes of owning a pair of Louboutins, and landing on the cover of Vogue, kahit sa Vogue India lang. Whichever comes first.

39 Comments »

  • darbs says:

    base muna bago basa.

  • darbs says:

    What makes me happy… Mababaw na kaligayahan ba? or Malalim na kaligayahan?

    Long lasting ba na happiness or short lived happiness?

    I think, “To dream, the impossible dream” makes me happy.

    • Mel says:

      Darbs, juice ko ang dalawang tao na peborit ang kantang yan ay si Ninoy and Ted Kennedy. Hehehe

      • darbs says:

        @Mel. I didn’t know that. Thanks for pointing this out. THAT MAKES ME SMILE! Am I happy? Yes, I am and sad at the same time.

        You cannot really appreciate happiness without sadness. maki charing na rin. kung ok sa inyo.

  • Maldito says:

    parang matagal na yan mel, una ko kasi nabasa yan sa yahoo news, months ago and got sad why Pinas is not on the list. contradicting to one article, i think time or reader’s digest na they wrote that pinas is the happiest people even in times of crisis and struggle, and we have the low suicide rate compared to other countries. Suprising, maybe it’s because mahilig sila sa salsa and colored ruffles skirts? he he he

    • Mel says:

      Maldits, bagong list ng Forbes yan dated 02 Sep 2009. The links I put are not working. Bakit kaya. Hehehe

      • Mel says:

        Ayan, okay na ang links. Hehehe
        Anyway, baka yung respondents na kinuha nila eh not represented well kaya hindi pumasok ang Pinas. Dedma na lang, ang importante eh masaya pa rin ang mga Pilipino despite of umaapaw na problemang pang-personal at problema sa bayan.

  • dencios says:

    di ako naniniwala sa survey na yan.

  • Chi says:

    i think happiness is everywhere. you just need to appreciate everything around you then you’ll realize that even the most simple thing can make u feel happy.

  • Silver says:

    For me, happiness cannot be measured. Although we may categorize it but true happiness is immeasurable. Masyadong broad ang salitang happiness for the survey. It should be replaced with a more specific like satisfaction etc.

    I also believe in happiness sa mga simpleng bagay. SOBRA. :D

    • Mel says:

      And we are not difficult to please unlike other nationalities. Ah bahala sila sa survey nila. Hahaha!

      • Snow says:

        I find the list political sister Mel. Halos puro habitated ng Caucasian ang included sa Top 10.

        But anyway, if they don’t find any of our cities here as the happiest…kever…bahala na lang sila noh. Dahil ang alam ko sister, Filipinos are typically resilient sa kahit anung nationalidad sa mundo. ;)

  • darbs says:

    Qualities ng survey?
    good humor, good living and Carnaval

    Philipine scenario:
    Tingnan nyu ang humor sa Pinas?
    Tingnan nyu ang good living sa pinas?
    Tingnan nyu ang Carnaval sa pinas?

    • reynz says:

      business and politics den kasi yang mga surveys na yan, especially pag influential ka na like Forbes Magazine na pag binalandra place mo, sisikat at dadayuhin ka nang mga turista. am sure maraming lobbyists dyan

  • darbs says:

    Nothing in this world can be measured depende kung kaninong perspective.

    As what the Mel said, influenza este influential bloggers. How influencial is influencial?

    Beauty contest din… Can beauty be measured?

    Punta tayong talent…Can it be measured by the hours of the day?

    It is all in the eye of the beholder, ika nga.

  • darbs says:

    Kung ang survey is about country na amidst sa kurapsyon, amidst sa extrajudicial killings, amidst sa kahirapan ng mamamayan, amidst sa senseless killings, assassinations, amidst sa paninira nang kalikasan, amidst sa lahat na ito ang mga MAMAMAYAN AY MASAYA PA RIN… then tingnan natin kung sinong nasyon ang mananalo.

  • tiyo paeng says:

    Yan kasi ang naging nature nila, yung gusto nila lagi silang masaya, palaging may carnibal..

    d2 sa lugar na kinalalagyan ko, marami sila d2.. brazilians and portuguese, yan ang madalas na napapansin ko sa kanila.. lagi silang may get together party, laging may pagtitipon at kasiyahan..

    night swimming sa gabi then sayawan sa beach with matching bonfire.

    Tila kulang ang araw nila kung walang party na mangyayari.

  • reynz says:

    Foor mii?? (sounding like Janina San Miguel)

    Haffineez ess, makita is Dencios dito. Asan na kaya yon?!

  • darbs says:

    @Reynz, last visit ko sa kanyang mansion, parang nasa Atlantis pa ata.

    Doon daw muna mamalagi sa Atlantis nude beach.

    I am not sure kung sureness nga.

    Dubai kasi un. parang bawal ata ang ganoon.

    Maliban na lang kung Dubai, Rhode Island, U.S.A baka totoo.

    Pero kung Nude City sa Dubai, Arab Emirates? doubting thomas ako.

    • reynz says:

      Oo, alam ko yon dahil binabantayan ko ang litrato nya na ibalandra dun hahahaa!

      Anyway: hirap sagutin nang tanong na to! Mababaw lang kasi ako, kahit ano mabilis akong lumigaya hehehe

    • reynz says:

      Darbs!

      Alam mo bang tatlong beses na akong napunta dyan sa Sandy Hook? hahahaha! Andyan lang malapet senyo! Hahaha

  • reynz says:

    Oo, sa maniwala kayo’t sa hindi ay nagbabasa ako ng Forbes. Hahaha!

    GOOD GURL! hahaha! dyan dapat naghahanap nang FAFA!!! at hindi sa TaliFafa! hahaha

  • an2nette says:

    nice post, but for me happiness is when you know you have peace of mind within and everything is going smoothly, sa pamilya, sa trabaho, sa lovelife at kahit ano pang life, material things are nothing, pansamantalang kaligayahan lang ang naibibigay nyan, we need to be contented with what we have, at dahil miss friendship ang lola dito sa germany, sila din ang happiness ko, the true friends ha hindi yung mga tupperware

  • dlysen says:

    pag malungkot ako alam ko wala na akong ibang patutunguhan at kung pakiramdam ko nasa hanganan na ako, dun ako natutuwa kc natapus na, kaligayahan naman ang kasunod nito. Ngayon maramdaman ko lng na humihinga pa ako sapat na para eto sa akin para maging masaya.

  • malensky says:

    basta ako, sinusunod ko ang payo ni Kim Chiu – Habulin Mo…Happiness Mo!!! hehe

  • chuva says:

    i think i have an idea why na napili ang rio – dahil parehong pareho tayo ng culture ng mga brazilians.. actually i was suprised to find that out when i went there.

    di ko maintindihan, kung bakit nga hindi napili ang kahit anung ciudad sa pilipinas.. dahil kung pareho nga tayo ng culture (masaya kahit walang pera – kuwentuhan lang sa kapitbahay masaya na… balot penoy lang sa kalsada or fishball, oks na) bakit nga di napili ang city sa pilipinas?

    baka nga may mga lobbyist diyan tulad ng sabi ni reynz…

    basta ang alam ko… pinasaya ko ng brazil.. ng hindi mai-e-explain.. hahahaha! puwede i-explain, pero password protected.. hahaha!

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