A follow-up... YOU KNOW WHY FINNS ARE SO HAPPY?!

#1479699

They're realists and consumed/embodied too much Nietzsche.They're realists and consumed/embodied too much Nietzsche.

One German newspaper recently praised Finland’s gift for Realitätsbewältigung: the ability to look reality in the face and master it.

A museum of Finnish happiness is opening in Helsinki:

One of the museum’s curators, Johannes Lassila, believes that this ostensibly curious paradox – that the Finns are content because they know that existence is an ordeal – manifests itself in the behaviour of the Finnish people. ‘If you imagine Finland as a Shangri-La, and then come here and stand here in the central square in November, you will be struck that nobody is smiling,’ Lassila told the Times at the weekend.

In the spirit of Nordic oneupmanship, however, that could be about to change. Two Finnish film producers have announced they will open a ‘Finnish happiness experience museum’ in Helsinki next year to explore how they are happier than their Scandinavian neighbours – and why. The reason, it transpires, is because the Finns accept that life is tough.

This outward appearance doesn’t betray deep-rooted misery, however, but merely a laconic, introverted and at times painfully shy temperament. ‘The Finns are not afraid of the Russians,’ says Miikko Oikkonen, the museum’s other co-creator. ‘They are afraid of having to accidentally spend time in the lift with their neighbours.’

Oh the horror. STAY AWAY FROM US! We want to be alone #1477604

A Stoic and Nietzschean truth, stumbled upon and embodied by the Finns: fucking endure hardship.

OK, sir. I kind of believe it. Also the outdoorsiness, the air quality, the saunas, the snow and darkness (nothing like that to invigorate your soul, reset your life expectations).