I am not sure what you mean when you say you want to disagree with the cold and dark.
Finland is cold and in the winter it is dark. In December, the longest nights in Helsinki can be up to 19 hours long.
One can jump in the pool.....tough to jump in the fire
.
But, I would never seek to argue the preferences of someone such as yourself. We all are unique in the combinations of things we like and don't like.
I just threw that out there as something someone said.
Here is an article I picked up and want to print. I believe the author is taking some liberties with the connection, but it's certainly worth discussing:
Happiness in the Nordic land is more about equal opportunities for every citizen to build a good life than public displays of cheerfulness.
scroll.in
As a Nordic country, Finland has one of the most
comprehensive packages of social benefits. The package includes family and housing benefits, unemployment benefits, survivor benefits, and many more. Finns also get free education and free healthcare. These are funded through heavy taxations.
The welfare policy takes care of even the average Finn
from cradle to grave. It is not required to be some kind of a privileged member of society to avail social benefits. Every Finn is eligible for social protection as the welfare system is founded on a
principle of universal rights based on citizenship.
The article then goes on to say:
If happiness is measured by assessing how outwardly joyous or cheerful a nation is,
Latin American countries will dominate the list while Finland will be nowhere near the top, said Martela. Finnish-American journalist Anu Partanen terms Finns
pessimistic by nature and emotionally reserved. She said Finns are ranked the happiest people as the happiness study measures the quality of life, not outward expressions of happy feelings.
Which now mixes happiness with the quality of life.
The article then takes some shots at America but I think fails to point out a few things that are inherent to their systems working so "well".
First, Finaland's population is a little over five million people. 25 states in the United States have larger populations. And, in fact, we have several metro areas that are larger (Phoenix is rated at 1.7 million, but the overall Valley of the Sun has a population of 4.9 million). All this says is that the U.S. is much more diverse because of it's huge population. Also, we have geography that feels a lot like Finland (cold) while where I live it is hot.
Second, there is a pretty strong sense of Finnish culture that practices what they call "sisu", which (from what I gather) means sucking it up in the face of adversity and getting after life. No whinning, no complaining......show some toughness. The excact opposite of what we have here in America. I have a lot to learn here....but I suspect that the Finns (from what I read....a rather stoic and reserved group) simply don't "go for woke" like we do in the U.S. providing as many safe spaces for people as we have car models.
Third, the Finns embrace a form of minimalism, which means they have moderate expectations and are now always disappointed. The have a conscious collective push towards specific consumption and an avoidance of "crap" (extra stuff). This allows them to focus on being part of a world community and more easily make sacrifices in the name of being a better global member.
It's been a fascinating look so far.
Not necessarily in that order and despite the fact they don't lend themselves to concurrent enjoyment.
