Happiness: What Can We Learn from the Underprivileged?

Abstract

I walked past a group of migrant workers gathered on grass patches just outside their dormitory. They were squatting in circles, beer cans clinking and their boisterous laughter punctuating the air. It was mesmerising to witness the joy on their faces the fact that they just finished a hard day at work. Other passersby hurried past them, some with darted gazes, seemingly dismissing their presence. The migrant workers did not seem to mind the suspicious look on people’s faces. They embraced their space, shifting around to ensure that they were not of inconvenience to passersby, perhaps out of habit or concern for others.