THUNDER BAY — Samantha Plavins was astonished by what she learned on a trip to Bhutan, the Himalayan country that measures its well-being on the basis of happiness rather than its gross national product.
The Thunder Bay adventurer, storyteller and leader of transformational walks for women spent three weeks last fall on a guided 350-kilometre hike at altitudes of over 4,000 metres.
It's known as the Snowman Trek, and is considered to be one of the toughest walks in the world.
Plavins, accompanied by Hamilton-based filmmaker Kendra Slagter, was on a mission to explore whether Bhutan's national values might hold answers for countries in the West.
Their documentary In Search of Happiness: Hiking Bhutan's Snowman Trek will be released in the coming weeks.
"The thing that struck me the most was that despite the harsh conditions of the people in the remote Himalayas, they exuded what felt like actual happiness. And they were healthy. I was blown away by this, especially since mental health here in Canada is such a struggle," Plavins told Newswatch.
Bhutan's Gross National Happiness index was introduced by the country's king in the late 1970s.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the GNH is intended to provide a comprehensive approach toward measuring progress, prioritizing overall well-being and happiness over purely economic pursuits.
The GNH index has come to shape Bhutan's development policies.
Plavins said she had wondered if GNH might be "a marketing thing," but found that "it fuels the way that they run everything" in the country.
"We visited a couple of really remote villages on rest days. All of the signage reflects this philosophy of gross national happiness. We went to a clinic In a region of only 800 people, and I was floored because there have been no heart attacks, no cancer, no strokes, no suicides in 10 years despite the very harsh conditions. To me, that spoke volumes about this simple life that they're leading, and how they are fully supported and looked after by a government that truly cares about its people."
Plavins said the lifestyle is in sharp contrast with the Western world.
"We live in a culture of striving here, and what we witnessed in Bhutan was a culture of non-striving. I can't bring Bhutan's way of life here, but we can try to replicate at least some of these lessons, which are very basic: Being content with what you have, being kind to everyone, caring about the nature, accepting your situation for what it is, and being grateful for what you already have."
The 45-minute documentary will premiere in Hamilton (Apr. 19) and Thunder Bay (May 3) at the Confederation College lecture theatre.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Slagter commented that "On the surface, you see two Western women hiking one of the hardest treks in the world...I shot some dramatic, stunning footage. But the documentary really isn't about us. We talked to dozens of Bhutanese people along the way to find out what 'happy' means to them. Their straightforward answers really shifted my mindset."
Plavins said she feels the importance of the lessons they learned has grown since the pair got back to Canada in November.
"It's scary to think how much worse things have gotten...With Canada sliding down the global happiness index (18th last year), and tensions rising with the US, the timing feels more urgent."
