WITH HELEN J CATALBAS
HAPPINESS is relative. The happier we are, the more relatives we have. Of course, this is meant to be a joke. But it is not a sin if you take this statement seriously.
Although it is universal, happiness is not absolutely true in one country as it is in another.
Happiness means material prosperity for some countries or at least for their leaders. Political domination is happiness for others.
We read about the so-called happiness index and countries are ranked according to how happy their respective citizens are. There might have been a massive survey conducted by some true-blue scholars to determine which country’s citizens are happier than the others.
We can only surmise that tons of documents were checked and rechecked to gather vital data and years of interviews were conducted to confirm the data previously gathered.
But who can tell that some peoples of the world are happier than the others? Happiness has its own meaning for each human being wherever they live.
Human beings have the capacity to be happy under any environment, under any sun. Regardless of the restrictions they are subjected to or the laxity they are allowed, humans always have a way of finding happiness their own way.
Happiness is the common denominator for the land where clitoral circumcision and hymenal repair are both tradition and fashion./PN
