What’s good — in Bhutan and Bradenton

Instead of facing the full ugly political campaign, I jumped at the opportunity to travel to Bhutan where Gross National Happiness is the measure of national success versus our Gross National Product. GNH includes such benchmarks as infant mortality, literacy, and adult mortality. GNP measures consumption, investment, government spending and net exports.

There is an obvious contrast of priorities and measurement tools. I wanted to discover if it made a difference in human lives and atmosphere. It did.

Just preparing for the journey had me refocusing on kindness. Since I was traveling alone, I needed to pack lightly, but I wanted the option to bring home purchases! My husband’s lightweight, fold-up parachute bag seemed perfect, except the day before I was leaving, I discovered its seams were coming apart.

Anita’s Alternations on Cortez came to the rescue. Anita instantly reinforced those seams and took my hugs and chocolate as her payment. I brought back a silk bag for her to remember our exchange and her good deed.

Once I arrived in Bhutan, I noticed strangers bow to each other. It is an act of respect, but also trust that surely we could use. Perhaps instead of bowing, we might simply smile at strangers. Bradenton is the friendly city after all.

Children loved to engage our group in English. In Bhutan all children are taught both English and their native language. Their success at literacy far exceeds ours. Here in Manatee, we are struggling to get the majority of third-graders to read at a third-grade level. In Manatee less than half do (47 percent). In Bhutan literacy among youth is 86.1 percent.

People are patient there. Their road infrastructure is a work in progress. I experienced a 2.5-hour delay as hundreds of vehicles backed up when two cars became entangled. There was no tow truck to the rescue, just drivers who jumped out to help. Meanwhile, delayed passengers took in the gorgeous views, ran under the waterfalls and simply played. Not one horn beeped! As soon I returned, the beeping horns welcomed me home.

Transactions are based on trust. In a small village several of us wanted to make credit card purchases to obtain artwork. The phone line was out and credit card processing was impossible. The solution was for us to get local cash when we reached the capital and give it to someone who eventually would drop it off at this shop. We signed nothing and walked away with our purchases. Imagine doing that here!

Upon returning, I shared my extra hotel soaps/shampoos with Turning Points where homeless go to shower and clean up each day. Perhaps when you travel, consider bringing back the extras to Turning Points. It might make you smile!

We need to smile more. Hopefully, this monthly column will encourage those smiles and help shift the negativity that pervades our daily lives. Share your positive stories, too, via email to sharegoodstories@gmail.com.

May this be a joyous holiday season for all of our community.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "What’s good — in Bhutan and Bradenton."