A balanced life, for free.

 

A balanced life, for free.

If you ask me about my level of happiness, living in the Crowsnest Pass Alberta, I will rate it high. My place is beautiful, and friendly, has wonderful services, and is full of potential. Yet, when the UN does its World Happiness Report rating of how happy people are in their countries, Canada doesn’t score as high as expected. The northern European countries score the highest even without all the natural advantages that we have. The weather is the same and we all are educated and enjoy modern health care. Why are they happier than we are?

The other day I was en route back to Blairmore in the dark. The temperature was 6° C in Nanton, so I opted to take Highway 22. In five minutes, the temperature dipped to 1° C hovering back and forth to 0° C. A vehicle in front of me swerved dangerously in front of an oncoming truck and I slowed down to 60 km/h. It was going to be a long drive home. Once I cleared the foothills, the road dried up, and the temperature stayed at 1° C. It occurred to me that minute differences in our environment or even just thinking can make an enormous difference to our quality of life. What is one degree? Dry road instead of ice.

Take Sweden compared to Canada. It’s a smaller country with about ten million people versus our almost forty million, or the US, close to 400 million. They produce much of what they need. Their one brand of automobiles, Volvo, is competing with the other major brands in the world. People who want a good car for a good price buy it. Volvo invented the seat belts and provided the patent free to the rest of the world, saving many lives. Their simple sensible brands do well. You can find H&M clothing in most fancy malls. IKEA products are found everywhere.

The Swedes dress nice, but nothing flashy. It is considered bad manners for the Swedish people to flaunt their wealth. They have millionaires and billionaires, but you wouldn’t know it. No Mar-a-Lagos and golden staircases in Sweden. A few years ago, a picture became viral depicting their Princess Madeleine in the street picking up her dog’s poop. All they do is aim at moderation and practicality. People learn to say no to what they don’t need and consider equality in all they do. They have a perfect public transportation system and use it. Bus stops are fitted with daylight bulbs to help ward off depression in the long winters.

The owner of IKEA, who is worth around fifty billion, was once denied entry to a gala where he was supposed to receive a prestigious award because he arrived by bus. He wouldn’t have fared much better if he drove his fifteen-year-old Volvo instead.

Driving is a way for most people to show their wealth around the world. In Sweden, you don’t see many expensive cars. The people are content driving the dependable Volvo, which is very comfortable and behaves very well on roads like our Highway 22 on a freezing night.

Jealousy is a major reason for human conflicts. In Sweden, there is hardly anyone to be jealous of. Swedes don’t enjoy showing off. Everyone in Sweden is middle class, ensuring a balanced society. They have a different attitude toward work. There is no competition to avoid getting fired, as we often have. People do their work well without it and never work overtime. They value time with family, friends, nature, and the arts. At the same time, they managed to develop and produce one of the world’s best fighter planes, while Canadians will pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an American fighter that may arrive late.

All Swedes have generous holidays, free education, and healthcare they can afford. Taxes cover the payment for generous maternal and paternal leave that Swedes expect. They pay some of the highest taxes in the world, depending on their income. If you are a top earner, you may top 50%. There is no monetary reward for overworking, and people don’t do it. Much different, for example, from Japan, where work takes away all other values in life. Here, balance is more important than getting ahead. The Swedes will defend their choice to pay and receive what they do. They don’t need lawyers and accountants to file their taxes. They are happy the way it is.

Just like many Canadians, they are able to enjoy the long, cold winters. They take their vitamin D and play winter sports. They see the beauty of winter scenery and like wearing winter clothes for a while. An old Swedish lady told me that if they didn’t have the winters, they wouldn’t enjoy summer as much. Summer is a good time for waxing the skis.

A balanced life offers them the opportunity to enjoy their family, and they do. Many keep small summer homes and spend much time on the water. Moms can mother and guys can father. They don’t live for show; they exist naturally. In the sixties, we were mesmerized by their longer lives and began our fitness craze that is still going on.

A tiny difference in mentality can have a tremendous difference in life, just like one degree can change the drive home from stress to joy. Acceptance and balance versus a constant attempt to show superiority

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.