What Bhutan Can Teach Us About Happiness

Award-winning filmmaker and avid traveller Dennis Schmelz journeyed to Bhutan in search of happiness, but what he discovered there was something far deeper. Often described as a land of spirituality, balance and Gross National Happiness, Bhutan reveals its true meaning only when experienced first-hand - among prayer flags, drifting incense and towering mountains. This is what he found - in his aptly named short What Bhutan Taught Me About Happiness.

During his travels, Schmelz visited temples that seem timeless, walked through ancient dzongs steeped in history, and spoke with monks whose quiet wisdom carried more weight than many books. One unforgettable moment came high above Tiger’s Nest, where he witnessed masked dancers whose movements told stories beyond words.

His film reflects the realisation that true happiness is never loud. It exists in small, quiet moments - in the unexpected, and in the act of letting go. What began as a search became a recognition: happiness had been present all along. This film is Schmelz’s tribute to Bhutan - a place that changed him, and a country that gives far more than it ever asks in return.

Happiness

It is riven with his usual joie de mourir and I couldn’t take my eyes off it throughout – so how did I miss the new Steve Cutts animation by a month?  Perhaps I was going through my own particular version of this old metaphor given coruscating new life.  After all, I do refer to my real world job as akin to being a hamster on a wheel.  At least I haven’t ended up like the young every-rat featured here. Yet.