Post One. Something about GNH.

As should be expected from my blogging history, it has taken two full weeks for me to write my first post. Let's hope it doesn't take two more to write the second. I figured it would be appropriate to say something about Gross National Happiness before I wander over to other topics.

I've spoken with several people here about the topic but my conversations with one man, Sangay Tempa, stand out. A former government official and now private consultant, Sangay's deep commitment to Buddhism informs a very clear sense of GNH. One line summarizes it well. "To achieve GNH, we need to abandon the self." We need to let go of the self, the ego, the illusion of independence, and care more for others. The concept of happiness is more whole in Bhutan than back home. It's not about getting what you want - satisfying myriad desires. Pursuing the sensual brings only momentary happiness. Once I get that car, the happiness I thought it would bring dissipates bit by bit until I need something else. Then we end up on the vicious cycle of want. Of course material items matter but our development (social and personal) goals must be grounded in something deeper. Contentment. A sense of belonging - to the world, with all sentient beings, with nature, with our community.

Enter, karma. Every thought, word, and action creates energy. Energy that positively or negatively impacts both me and the rest of the world. Cultivating kindness in mind and spirit for all sentient beings is the path to happiness. This is where contentment and belonging come from.

Now, the leap: To bring this consciousness to the realm of government development policy. If this consciousness remains at the forefront of policy discussions - that policy is working towards both the physical and spiritual well-being and contentment of people - than perhaps GNH can be achieved.

If the government and the educational system can maintain these cultural and religious sensibilities and inculcate them further into the Bhutanese mindset, then maybe this noble concept of GNH can be achieved.

As Bhutan opens up and "development" comes in, the threat of materialism looms over the country like the increasing monsoon clouds out my window. The discourse and practice of GNH competes daily with fancy new SUVs, sex-craved, bleached Indians on TV (all of whom happen to be multi-millionaires), and the American export of thug worship. This, of course, is all new to Bhutan. 7 years ago there was no internet. 10 years ago there was no television. 30 years ago there were only a couple of shops in the capital city. 45 years ago there were no roads linking the country with others. 50 years ago, almost no one used money. I am struggling to even imagine what such rapid change does to the individual and collective psyche of a society.

Some have said that the West is more fertile land to plant and cultivate GNH in policy making. After progressing through material development and reaching a post-Thanksgiving meal-point of overabundance and nausea, many Westerners (Northerners) realize the emptiness materialism brings. Once an adequate level of material wealth is achieved, the luxuries don't bring more happiness. Instead, we see broken communities, personal isolation, a general weariness - stress, overwork, a divorced relationship with nature ------- anomie.

But, did it take going through this wrenching transformation (ex: the financial crisis) to bring us to the point where we look for alternatives? We look towards evangelical Christianity, towards travel, towards Eastern thought to show us a surer path to contentment. But, what of Bangkok? Seoul? Thimphu? The seduction of material goods is still new. The kids here are captivated by the international. Can GNH triumph over the seductiveness of the temporal?

Who knows? All I do know is that many people in Bhutan are conscious of what can be lost. With the threats of globalization come the opportunities. As people see the glamour and wealth out there, they also see the violence and alienation. Globalization has made the Bhutanese more aware of what a spectacularly beautiful country they inhabit, how special are its traditions and culture, how lucky they are to live in a "peace country."

In my little time here, I have seen a very clear difference in how people approach development. People speak more quietly, less opinionated. There is more consensus-building. People speak of PEOPLE. Even the meetings are more human. There is a consciousness of the other -- laughter. It's really refreshing after a year of not talking about people at all. People just didn't enter the conversations at Harvard, obsessed with the mechanics and never why we are even writing equation after equation. It's nourishing to my soul to see people who are consciously imagining the people for whom they work.

Hopefully, the enlightened here can guide development in such a way as to tilt the balance in favor of the positive and not the negative of opening the Kingdom's gates to the outside. We'll see over the decades to come. But, I feel hopeful.