What You Can Learn from The Happiest Man in Bermuda

In 2012, I went to visit a friend who was doing a six-month locum on the island of Bermuda. Now, doing a locum on a tropical island during a Canadian winter is probably it’s own recipe for happiness. But to my surprise, I discovered something else in Bermuda that has inspired me ever since.

While asking my friend for things to see, one of the first suggestions was to try and see Johnny Barnes.

“Who?” I asked.

“You’ll understand when you see him…trust me”, I was told.

He was described to me as an elderly man who wakes up every morning to stand at a roundabout to wave at the passing cars to tell them “I love you” and to “have a great day”. And he’d been doing it every day for years!

It was this little, beautiful, joyful thing for all involved. I had to admit, it instantly elevated my mood and put a smile on my face. Years later, it’s still one of the most memorable things from my trip.

So I had to read a little bit more about Johnny. Apparently he spent six hours a day, for thirty years standing at this roundabout, for free, in order to brighten people’s day. And the act impacted him as well. He was known as “Mr. Happy Man”, and was considered one of the happiest people on the island.

The man was also beloved on the island of Bermuda. So much so, that a statue was erected in his honour.

Thinking about Johnny a little deeper. There’s a lot that Johnny was doing that each of us can implement to affect our own happiness. Without having to stand on a roundabout.

For more information please visit: https://www.mdhealthyself.com/lessons-from-the-happiest-man-in-bermuda

A Regular Dose of Nature as Medicine

I’m currently sitting out by a lake. In a little cabin tucked away in the mountains of Vermont. My own little personal retreat. In the background, the sun is setting over the hills and the sky is a warm hue of orange. As I gaze at the scene behind me I am overtaken with a sense of awe and ease. I feel quiet, calm and rested sitting out here in nature, just being with myself for a little while. It’s quite a reprieve from the chaos of an emergency room.

I feel deeply connected to the natural world. Why do many of us feel such a strong connection when we’re in this space? Well, although this is an opinion, I really think that there is an actual connection. From an evolutionary standpoint we are all connected in some way. Over the millennia, we have grown biologically distinct, but perhaps there is still some sort of deep connectivity there. These trees over here, well on some level, are my relatives. (I know how crazy that sounds)

At least, that’s what it feels like. It’s like the same feeling I have when I’m see members of my family that I haven’t seen in a long while. There’s some sort of feeling deep down inside. Of gratitude, happiness, and peacefulness borne of connection and it feels to me like a real thing.

What is “connection” anyway? It is anything more than a feeling or a mental state? A deep visceral feeling that comes up when I’m around certain things that seems to have importance to me. Does that come from the electrical impulses of a few neurons, an intellectual understanding, or from something beyond? No one really knows. But it certainly is heartening to think of us as deep interconnected beings just living our lives in this world together. Certainly makes walking in the park a heck of a lot more fun!

For more information please visit: 
https://www.mdhealthyself.com/why-trees-make-you-happier