The pursuit of happiness
@amandacanning
@jonathanstokesphoto
If you would like to feel the pangs of instant lifestyle envy, simply hang around the waterfront in Helsinki for an hour on a Monday morning. People head to work or take their children to nursery on bikes, gliding through streets empty but for the cheerful yellow-and-green trams that rattle along them. Hardy swimmers complete pre-work laps of the Allas Sea Pool as the day’s first ferry from Suomenlinna Fortress chugs into the harbour behind them, its passengers ambling off to the city’s offices and coffee shops. No one seems to be in a hurry. I compare this to my own frantic, wild-eyed Monday commute and make a mental note to make more effort to enjoy the start of the week. It’s just one lesson to take from the Finns, a people who have nailed the nebulous concept of happiness so completely that Finland frequently tops ‘the world’s happiest’ polls. For a fuller education, I meet up with four locals and ask them to spill the beans.
1 THE BIKE GUIDE
LESSON: EMBRACE LIFE’S CONTRASTS
It’s hard to imagine that Riku Nurminen ever feels glum, or even just slightly mediocre. For the last half hour, we’ve been cycling through Helsinki, and he hasn’t stopped smiling, or talking. “I love this,” he shouts over his
