Is Happiness A Choice?

When I reflect on my recent trip to Bali and Lombok, one moment in particular keeps rising to the surface.

I was in the back of a cab, winding through rice paddies and local villages, when I asked the driver how people here feel about life. He smiled without hesitation and said:

“Happy. Because that’s what we choose.”

It wasn’t a throwaway line. He meant it. He spoke about how people live simply, using what they need, valuing family above all else, staying connected to nature, and resisting the urge to overcomplicate things.

It made me think:

In the West, we often equate happiness with achievement, acquisition, or arrival. But in Bali and Lombok, happiness felt like a daily decision, not an outcome.

Here are the 3 lessons I brought home with me:

1. Simplicity is Power

Life doesn’t have to be complicated to be meaningful.
People live with less, but experience more. There’s less noise, more presence.

2. Happiness is an Active Choice

It’s not passive. It’s cultivated through small rituals; sunrise walks, shared meals, temple offerings, and gratitude that doesn’t need occasion (like Easter ;-)).

3. Community is Currency

Support isn’t transactional: it’s a way of being. This is something we must nurture daily with friends, family, neighbours and the barista in your local coffee shop. People show up for each other, often without being asked.

As someone who works in health and human development, these insights felt like deep reminders.

Wellness isn’t always something to chase.

Sometimes, it’s something we return to. Something we choose day by day, moment by moment.

And maybe, just maybe, it gets easier when we simplify, connect, and root into what matters.

Thanks for reading and happy Easter weekend.

💛 Celeste