So, my buddy Joe sends me an email this morning, talking about happiness. And, he sends a link to a video. I'll link it here. At about the 12:00 mark it talks about Louisiana and the happiness index of its people. It turns out, Louisiana is a very happy place, but not for the reasons you might suspect.
Louisiana has its problems. Poor roads, a bad tax structure, Laughable government, yet we are ahppy, especially in the rural and poor communities. Why? Family and friends.
Belle and I decided seven years ago that we wanted out shop to be a place where family and friends could gather. To share a meal, to connect, to laugh and commiserate. It has a full kitchen and a half bath. It's a gathering spot. We "cook big" on Sunday and anyone is invited. We generally have between 6 and 15 people eating lunch on Sunday. We never know who is going to show up, and they never know the menu. My one caveat: If you don't like what we're cooking, Popeye's is just down the road.
As I think back, some of my happiest times were when I was dead-broke, raising kids. Someone wold call. "Hey, we are cooking crawfish. Bring something to throw in the pot and come on." or "I need some help. We're killing a hog. Tell your wife to make a salad, and come on." Louisiana knows how to party on the cheap.
Happiness isn't about possessions. It's about family and friends and community. It takes a little effort, but it's a choice. If you are not happy, make some changes. Make a big stew and invite some friends. Join and local church and get involved. Volunteer to help out a the high school concession stand. Learn to laugh. You can't be unhappy when you are laughing.
2 comments:
We do the same thing on Saturday night, but I have to do it in my house... And yes, it's always about fun/sharing/enjoying other's company.
One thing I noticed working construction in Louisiana was that the construction workers would come to work on Monday and talk about what they did over the weekend. Most parts of the US, it was about football, or fishing, or hunting, things like that. In Louisiana, it was "I cooked a jambalaya for 30" or "I made an alligator sauce piquante for the neighborhood." People in Louisiana take cooking for a crowd seriously, and I loved it.
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