Esteban is dead on correct. A 2 week study in Norway is a waste of time and paper. I love Norway also, and love all of the seasons and lived from the South to the North, and East to the West. Many people suffer from what they call the “Grey Disease,” when it rains incessantly on the West coast, Bergen being a prime example. Some are affected by the very long winters with 6 to zero hours of daylight. Any study during the dead of winter would be misleading. A study performed during May of June would probably swing the other way because of long days of perfect temperature, easy access to the forests and sea, and an opportunity to leave the city and stay in the cabins that most people have in the countryside to commune with nature. Currently I live in Thailand, which has fairly consistent temperature and daylight all year long. There seems to be no swings in mood or behavior. This would probably be much the same in Southern Italy. This is apples and oranges territory.

I live in Norway and I love it that people don’t talk in trains. And if they do, they do it at low volumes just to each other. I think that is the considerate thing to do. People want to listen to music, read, look out the window and enjoy the wonderful Norwegian nature, or just close their eyes and relax. All of the above was very hard to do last summer when I was in the train and there were some American tourists that talk so loud that you could even hear them all the way to the next railcar.

However it is true what you say about the winter and the lack of light. I personally enjoy winter -when it is a good one: snow and cold!- but most people get depressed or low in spirits. So regarding this study, I think the time of the year when they interview people is a big factor in how they answer the questions about how well they feel about life.

One important aspect of a growing social trend is the theme that we should all have Income Equity, total diversity, acceptance of cultures that clash with ours and other paradigms that conflict with nature. “Birds of a feather flock together” …but we are also told that it is wrong to exclude people that are different from our groups of friends, churches, or social circles. Yet when we are influenced negatively by social conditions and complain about this, we are also told that we must accept people who are different from us and it cannot change. This breeds contempt, frustration, anger and confusion. Allowing certain social areas of our society to exclude us from entering their growing social circles is a crime against anything that will progress harmony and unity of a Nation.

Personally, I have worked diligently over the last year to identify the things that irritate me or cause enough concern for me that would be a detriment to my well-being. It is not always practical or easy to limit my exposure to these negative influences, so I try to deal with them as best I can, but make ample time for myself in the outside world with long distance walking, ice baths, fasting and planning my day better… and I’ve recently discovered the Wim Hof method of breathing and meditation.

In other conversations, Norwegians did express happiness when they told me of their outdoor activities. Conversely, I met up with someone in Bergen I had known in my Australian city. She complained there had been only one sunny day during two months of summer. She seemed very depressed.

The people on trains were mostly silent. People generally didn’t talk to each other let alone other people. They were very comfortable trains but the silence was so different to trains in other countries were people did talk to create an atmosphere.