DAY 315 - THE HAPPIEST WOMAN IN AMERICA

Day 315

When I opened up my computer this morning, I stumbled upon an article that spoke about the happiest woman in America. According to research done by Healthways, a well-being management group, statistically, the happiest woman in America is a suburban Californian, happily married with kids who no longer live with her; she's white and has a 10-minute commute to a full-time, professional job. She is part of a family income of over 120 thousand dollars a year.  She's a Baby Boomer who exercises at least 30-45 minutes six times a week, has healthy eating habits, has at least four devoted friends and is religious.

Concretely, USA Today along with Healthways identified Mary Claire Orenic, a 50-year-old resident of Manhattan Beach, California, as the happiest woman in America.

Mary Claire Orenic

Mary Claire Orenic is a senior manager at Siemens Healthcare, a global company that allows her to work from home at least two days a week. She has a 6-digit salary. Her only son, Christopher, is headed to college and her husband is a successful optometrist. She exercises regularly and has healthy eating habits.  She considers her husband her best friend.  She says she can count on 10 friends who would respond if she needed help.

I find it interesting that some group can identify one single person as being the happiest woman in America.  You can have it all, but still be miserable.  You can tell people you're happy, but suffer from anxiety.  Not everyone is an open book... in fact, I don't know many people who are.  That's why I'm so skeptical when it comes to surveys on happiness.  Most people would never admit they're unhappy.  Not for lack of honesty, but sometimes you need to lie to yourself for your own sake!

I believe happiness is somewhat based on your circumstances, but mostly it depends on your perception of your life.  If you tend to be optimistic and positive, you'll have an easier time being happy that if you see problems everywhere.

When they named Matthieu Ricard the happiest man on earth, they looked at his brain...  neuroscience was able to determine that 'the happy part of the brain' was more developed in Ricard than in most people.

I'm sure Marie-Claire Orenic is a fairly happy person.  But, realistically speaking,  she's probably as happy as many other women.  In fact, the use of the superlative goes to show, once more the competitive nature of North-American thinking.  You should try to be the best at everything, including happiness!