What does it take to be happy in Guyana?

Jan 19, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A woman on her morning walk, noticed an older man sitting on his front step smoking a cigar and looking extremely happy. She guessed that he must be in his eighties, yet he seemed so happy.
She walked up to him and said, “I couldn’t help but notice how happy you look! What is your secret?”
“I smoke ten cigars a day,” he said. Apart from that, I drink a whole bottle of whiskey every week, and eat only junk food. On weekends, I drink a case of beers. I don’t exercise at all.”
“That is absolutely amazing! How old are you?”
“Twenty-four,” he replied.
The above story reminds us that happiness is not about having, but is about a state of mind. It is not about material things, but about how we relate to those things. It is not about owning things, but about how contended we are with what we have.
I know an old lady who always complains. Her favourite complaint is that one day she is going to break her ankles when walking on the street in front of her home because it is filled with craters.
A few days ago, I was by her house and noticed that all of the streets in her area, including the one in front of her home, had been fixed. So I told her she must be very happy now that the roads have been fixed.
“Happy? Happy?” she bellowed. “Look at these drains in front of my home. The water can’t flow.”
The drains were no more than twelve inches wide and six inches deep. It was what we call in Guyana, a gutter. I picked up a stick that was lying nearby and parted some weeds in the gutter. Immediately, the once stagnant water began to flow freely.
“Are you happy now?” I asked
“Why the government can’t do it?” was her response.
I realized that her state of mind was the cause of her happiness. Being happy for her was about having something to complain about.
Each time I pass by the fast food joints in our country, I always see them overflowing with patrons, particularly the young people. The lines are long. People have money in Guyana to splurge, and they do splurge, including on fast foods.
I once saw a lady eat four large pieces of fried chicken that she had bought from a fast food outlet. She licked her platter clean. Only bones were left in the box. When she was finished she let off a loud belch, rubbed her stomach, downed a twenty-ounce cup of soda and said, “The chicken had too much salt.”
Each weekend, I see thousands of persons at local bars and pubs and clubs having a whale of a time. They seem loaded with an endless stream of dollars. I wonder whether they are happy.
I see young ladies frequenting the clubs. Each week, some of them have to have a different outfit, which costs thousands. The money seems to be there. Are they happy? No, they are not!
Each day I see persons who used to walk now driving. I see young men speeding along our roadways with their big bikes and I wonder also whether they are happy.
If material wealth is the basis of happiness, then the Guyanese people should be happy. Many of them now have their own homes, drive their own cars, go out on weekends and have a grand time and sport the latest designer clothing. Are they happy?
I decided to ask one of them this question. I said to him, “I like your threads. They must have cost you a fortune. You have a beautiful home and nice ride, and a lovely girlfriend and a good job. You must be very happy?”
He shook his head.
“What more do you want? Why are you not contended and happy?”
”I get turn down at the embassy.”

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