Screening: The Economics of Happiness

The powerful, heartfelt documentary Economics of Happiness, launched last month, is making waves wherever it is shown. It moved me deeply at its first screening in Berkeley last month, and a group of Albany residents has persuaded the Albany Twin Theater to show it on March 6th at 10:45 am Sunday morning. Everyone deserves the boost of hope and inspiration this film delivers.

The hour-long documentary contrasts life in Ladakh, a mountainous and rather inhospitable corner of the Himalayas where a small nation of people lived happy and prosperous lives for centuries until the arrival of globalized trade in the 1970s, with the world we are all too familiar with. The lesson is clear, uncompromising and... hopeful. An important piece of the solution rests in re-establishing small  localized communities rooted strongly in a sense of place. 

Here is a link to Helena Norberg-Hodge's first film, Ancient Futures - Learning from Ladakh.

Global warming, the inevitable decline of cheap fuel, mass species extinction and overpopulation may not be the central problems driving the current and growing crisis we face. Instead it could be something as simple as our relationship with the place we live.

Happy, smiling people among whom money was used only to trade with people far away, who considered themselves rich until images of American "affluence" sowed seeds of discontent in their young, who valued community above all else - these people may have something to teach us today that is more valuable than a degree from a prestigious university backed by international corporations.

"Local knowledge is knowledge that tells you about life. It is about living. I call it "grandmothers' knowledge", and I think the biggest thing that we need, the task for today, is to create grandmothers' universities everywhere so that local knowledge never disappears." Vandana Shiva, internationally recognized Indian activist and philosopher.

"If we can embrace the challenge, if we can engage our creative brilliance in this process, the future - with less oil - could be preferable to the present."  Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Movement.

Following the screening, Berkeley child/teen/adult psychologist Allen Kanner, Ph.D., co-founder of CCFC and a regular columnist with Tikkun magazine, will lead a discussion on ways to move beyond the influence of television and corporate advertising.

Please join us at this one-time screening which will also serve as a fund-raiser for Transition Albany's exciting Great Unleashing event on May 22nd - a multi-faceted celebration where we can begin, as a community, to put our heads together and seriously address the problem of our over-dependence on essentials whose easy availability is heavily reliant on cheap oil. (Event details available soon. Richard Heinberg is our keynote speaker.)

You can buy a $10 ticket ahead of time (advisable) at the box office, 1115 Solano Avenue, Albany, or online. Click on the date (March 6th) and then on the time (10:45 am). Doors open at 10:30 am.