Thursday, September 30, 2010

Who Grows Up Happier?

The kids in suburbs or the kids in the slums of Dhaka?





































[photos from Adbusters magazine]

Wealth is not nearly as important as social networks. Children in the suburbs are losing the freedom to explore their world due to protective parents who are fearful of traffic, strangers, and other worries.

Happiness and economic growth are independent. Perhaps we should invest more in relationships than growing our portfolios. After all, what would you rather have on your tombstone: successful businessman, or beloved father and cherished friend?

I learned this phrase from the relatively poor people of Costa Rica: Pura Vida (pure life)!

2 comments:

Portshell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Portshell said...

On the issue of protective parents, I found this article about a mother who let her 9-year-old son ride the NYC subway to be very interesting. Likewise, the CBC documentary Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids makes for interesting related viewing.