Mindfulness
fromCN Traveller
3 weeks agoI've lived in 3 of the world's happiest countries - and they all share these surprising habits
Living in Scandinavia fosters happiness through a slower pace of life, natural beauty, and a sense of community.
An increasing number of international tourists come to Finland searching for the secret to happiness, yet Lakeland is still an undiscovered gem for many. It's the region Finns themselves return to when they want to relax truly, and the perfect destination for anyone looking to step away from the noise of everyday life.
Each year, the United Nations puts together a list of the happiest countries in the world, comparing a wide variety of criteria, from average incomes and healthcare standards to levels of generosity and absence of corruption. For the eighth year in a row, Finland has topped the list, winning on behalf of its people's notable friendliness, freedom of choice, and high life expectancy.
At the outset of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, a singer bemoans his separation from a beloved friend who grew up beside him. Today, the friends rarely meet "näillä raukoilla rajoilla, poloisilla Pohjan mailla" - lines which translator Keith Bosley renders "on these poor borders, the luckless lands of the North." The Kalevala, a poetic masterpiece of nearly 23,000 lines, first appeared in 1835. Now, nearly 200 years later, those "luckless lands of the North" are an increasingly tense border zone.
We both live in maybe the most impractical place if you want to be a successful DJ, laughs Alice Marie Jektevik, one half of Article 3, a Sami female DJ collective. Jektevik, 36, and her collaborator, Petra Laiti, 30, reside in a rural village in the far north-east of Norway. But living in Sapmi the region across northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia traditionally lived in by Sami people has proven to be central to their success, providing the inspiration for much of their work.