Are you clapping?

The children’s song goes, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” sing-song chants a beloved old children’s song.

Well, are you clapping? Are you happy?

Turns out, there is something called the “happiness index” designed to measure quality of life. In 1972 the practice of measuring happiness started in the Kingdom of Bhutan, a tiny country nestled between India and China. The reigning monarch wanted to balance economic growth with the spiritual values of the culture’s Buddhist majority by measuring prosperity by more than the Gross National Product.  So, Bhutan created the first ever “happiness index.”

Over the last thirty years this type of survey has reached beyond Bhutan’s borders and developed into a world-wide ranking. Last year the list was topped by Denmark, Finland and Norway. The United States is number 11.

Since many countries have been struggling with economic difficulties, the happiness index is being used to shift attention and show the importance of the things money can’t buy like:

-mental and physical health;

-strength of family and community ties;

-a sense of control over one’s life;

-opportunities for leisure activities.  

A Gallup poll has found that even though economic uncertainty and hardship have affected many people, the majority of 57 percent of Americans consider themselves “pretty happy” and 29 percent say they are “very happy.” 

And, drilling deeper into this theme, a Time poll asked, “What are your major sources of happiness?” 

Some three quarters of the respondents said relationships with family and friends. And sixty two percent identified,”religious or spiritual life and worship” as a key source.  

Lastly, when it came to improving their moods, the top three answers were 

-talking with family and friends

-listening to music

-prayer and/or meditation. 

Prayer, clearly, is a significant factor in happiness. That’s a good thing to know because  happiness is also a significant factor in health. For example, Dr. Sheldon Cohen, psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University has found that happy people were less likely to get a cold. And, if they do get sick, they suffer less.

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health study explored happiness boosters; these are regular practices that bring joy, satisfaction and fulfillment to daily life.  University of California, at Riverside, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky found counting your blessings is a significant happiness booster.

This point has also been illustrated in the work of Dr. Robert Emmons, at the University of California at Davis. In the care of patients with neuromuscular disease, he has found that gratitude exercises relieve pain and fatigue. In fact, Dr. Emmons says, “The ones who benefited most tended to elaborate more and have a wider span of things they’re grateful for.” And that gratitude also motivated a greater kindness and appreciation toward other people. In both studies, commitment to a practice of gratitude was key to the beneficial results of happiness and better health. It can be as simple as recognizing three good things each day. 

This connectivity was recognized more than a century ago by Christian healer and writer Mary Baker Eddy. She observed, “Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.”

A Gallup Well-Being Index (This is an index compiledy by Gallup compiled in March 2013 has found that more than half of us would say we’re thriving.

Is that clapping I hear?