IT’S YOUR LUCKY DAY

(because it is the Day of Happiness)

Sometimes I can be extremely happy at an unlikely moment. And then you might think that this comes from some life changer, but I don't find a perfected double espresso on a relentlessly busy but sun-drenched terrace a life changer (no matter how delicious it is). And a relaxed shopping round in the local supermarket of my picturesque, historic little town is certainly not either. Nah, and yet it almost overwhelms me. Do you know those cartoons where a character is sprinkled with powder and suddenly can fly? Well, it's like that, only without the takeoff. No bad words about that overwhelming feeling or that I-believe-I-can-fly moment, because I find it heeeeerlijk.

But strangely enough, I do find it so. Because what defines happiness? And how can it be that something you chase so hard, because secretly we all seek it, is elusive when you want it and bursts apart when you're not focused on being happy at all? And is it perhaps also true that when you're turning all those arrows in the right direction, you might forget to be happy? Even if you hit me with unhappiness, I have no idea how it works. Apparently, you can learn it (read here just for a moment). But however it may be, today is the day to be a happy and cheerful egg. Just see it as your happiness day.

“Today is the day to be a happy and cheerful egg”

The United Nations declared March 20 as the International Day of Happiness. Bhutan, a kingdom in the Himalayas (which is roughly between Tibet and India, if you have an above-average topographical interest) initiated this happy-go-lucky day. They not only know the gross domestic product but also the gross domestic happiness. And then you actually want to know how our little frog country is doing in terms of gross domestic happiness, right? Well, I can tell you that it's doing just fine. The CBS conducted research and 88 percent of Dutch adults are extremely happy. That roughly translates to 9 out of 10 people around you. If you are in good health, this percentage rises to 94 whole percent. And do you know what else helps? If you are in a relationship, because then your happiness rises to an astronomical 92 percent. Guys, I never knew we were such a happy people.

This morning I drove from the south to the north and I saw a frightening number of grumpy faces behind the steering wheels. Thank God Edwin Evers kept shouting that it is the Day of Happiness, otherwise I would have gotten caught up in the misery of Monday morning. And now I know that they all have grandly pulled the wool over my eyes, because in 9 out of 10 cars sat a bizarrely happy person. Look, that makes the traffic jam a lot more pleasant. I'm waiting for a response from a potential under the houses. Could today be my lucky day? It almost can't be otherwise. And to you, I wish an intensely happy Happiness Day.