Celia Atherton - Happiness Interview
What is the Interrogate Happiness Festival?
It’s the best chance you’ll have this year to get behind the headlines and find out why happiness really does matter – and enjoy yourself, be stimulated by the debates, the music, the comedy and all the other festival goers. It’s not your standard festival, and not your standard conference – it takes the best of all these formats – because doing things differently helps us all think differently and, we hope, act differently too
Why would Dartington be the best place to stage such a festival?
Dartington has a wonderfully peaceful, intimate atmosphere – come through the archway into the courtyard and you know you are in for something special. It’s a place where you can stop and think, where you can sit and debate, where you can dance and enjoy – with all the venues close to each other. Beyond Dartington itself – it’s set midway between Exeter and Plymouth with good transport links between both – the South West has as large an appetite for exploration and enjoyment as anywhere else and Dartington’s range of festivals (six each year) ensures that this is the go-to place for thinking and debate and enjoying yourself.
Why did you choose the theme of happiness for this year?
Because happiness goes to the core of our being – everything we do connects with the happiness of others or of ourselves. What is remarkable is how closely those two are linked – our happiness really depends on the happiness of others around us. Yet so often we trivialise happiness or characterise it as being about the trivial. If happiness is the heart then who has responsibility – just ourselves or our governments too? If we could answer these questions and bring the results into our lives maybe we could make a happier world. We need to talk about these things together
Why do you think happiness has become such a serious issue in our society today?
We know that although ours is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (yes, even in a recession like we are having now) we are one of the unhappiest. We work hard yet feel more miserable. We want our children to be happy yet fear they might not be so in the world we have created. So this is a moment to seize – where we know what’s wrong but aren’t quite sure how to fix it. Rarely is a problem solved by just turning it on its head – the answer to low growth in the economy might not be high growth. Instead it might be to focus on what makes the most people happy – things like feeling part of a community, doing things for others, learning new skills and, yes, having a job, might be better ways to address our problems.
What are your views about the results of the government’s latest survey into the nation’s well-being?
They’re a bit odd – because they appear to focus more on the markers than the causes of happiness. If, for example, it is true that the more rural where you live is, the happier you are then the important question is why? Is it because grass is good for you? Or because the experience of being part of a tight-knit supportive community is greater outside of densely-packed, fast-paced cities? Does that mean we should all move out of cities – as if we could! We need to unpick the results to understand what we can do – or they will leave us feeling helpless. Another result is that married people are happier. So, what if I’m divorced? Let’s find out what makes urban people happy or makes divorced people happy. For example – take a look at London Citizens, set up by Maurice Glasman, one of our panellists during the Interrogate! Festival, which has brought together people across the city to create a new community that helps others and builds strong connections. Drawing on the proven power of person-to-person organising, their work transforms communities and builds the local power necessary to create local and national change.
What do you think of the idea of a government Happiness Minister who is responsible for the happiness of the population?
Has this really been suggested? We need a change in mindset – hiving off happiness to a minister would never achieve that. We need to see the Treasury taking happiness seriously. Interestingly it is economists in this country and around the world who have done most to explain why happiness is more important than economic growth – as Richard Layard will explain during the Interrogate! Festival
Do you have a life motto?
I’ve never thought about that. If I did have one it would probably be to believe you can make a difference. I’m lucky, I’ve found I can. The ability for people to feel they can connect, they can make change, they can influence the course of their lives and of others for the better is a huge contributor to our feelings of happiness.
What makes you most unhappy?
Globally – seeing how little we learn from history and how slow we are to change. And how little we do when we have clear evidence of the need to change – think about population explosion or about climate change
Personally – seeing family or friends being unhappy. Oh, and finding out that I’m not a naturally-talented vegetable grower!
What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Interrogate! Festival?
The wonderful mix of panellists who’ll make me think, the performers who’ll make me see things differently, the comedians who’ll make me laugh and stop me in my tracks, the musicians who’ll make me want to dance, the festival-goers who will stimulate me by their energy, their agreements and disagreements, and the food and drink and places to rest and watch and ponder. There is nowhere else in the UK where I could get that mix
And finally, happiness is…
A sunny day in a damp summer; a hot shower on a bad day; a phone call with your best friend; a blackbird’s call in the morning; a card to someone who’s having a hard time. Happiness is here – the trick is to make it be a part of every day. For all of us
