Travelling With Purpose

I am an expatriate living in Dubai for about 5 years now. Coming from a third world country, I've always thought that everything just gets better simply when you earn tons of money. But then at the end of the day, with all the fast paced, highly competitive and sadly, racial inequality, going on around me I wonder: Is this the real world? Does happiness really mean having to give up so much just to fit in in a country that you can never call your own? Does joy really come with a price? Then, there was Greece.

Me and my wife saw that Greeks are happy people. This realization and the reasons why were taught & showed to us not by mythological Greek Heroes or glories of empires but by simple everyday people living life to the fullest at present.

Greeks are happy because they are passionate and love what they do - what they do is not forced to them, it is a choice; and when they choose, they dedicate their lives to it. Most businesses in Greece are family run business stretching generations, immersing in the same trade, perfecting it, taking pride in it. Smiles are genuine because they like what they do.

Greeks are happy because they know that life is not a boring race to the finish line but an enjoyable slow stroll. Greeks love to take their time in doing things - from preparing Greek Coffee, to having siestas, etc. This might be frowned upon by other cultures but then if you think about it, why rush life when you only get to live it once?

Greek are happy because they know their identity, heritage and history. Greece might be in an economic setback now, but then history shows how resilient they are and how much they contributed to civilization as a whole and they know that it is not impossible for them to rise again. Hope is never gone.

Most importantly, Greeks are happy because they value freedom. The stripes of the Greek National Flag itself represent the number of letters of their word for freedom and this has many implications: isn't everything better when you are free to speak, to learn, to discover, to follow what you want, to have equal rights with everyone else?

Greece is a travel treasure for me and my wife in many ways - its sights, history and culture. But I guess we treasure it the most because of one great lesson: it taught us that happiness can't be bought, that happiness is within and we just need to find it and then everything else will follow. A lesson that will guide us and others through life and make us better persons.