Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955, declaring it to be, “the happiest place on earth.” A couple of decades later, Bhutan’s Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) over GDP to gage his small kingdom’s wellbeing.

While Disneyland focused on a dose of magic and joy, “K4” was dedicated to the holistic welfare of his subjects. The kingdom’s measures include health, time use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity, and living standards.

True to goal, we encountered genuine warmth and kindness from Bhutanese in shops, on the street, and in nature. Even watching an archery competition, the national sport, the banter was friendly rivalry rather than angry competition.

Each team danced and sang every time a teammate hit the target, over 1½ football fields away. Their culture, landscape, pace and values all seemed to point in the direction of graciously accommodating the group.

The beauty of Bhutan’s landscape is reflected in the handsome architecture and exquisite textiles. Their wealth is in the breathtakingly beautiful land, the whimsically decorated buildings, and the shrine rooms that are the cornerstone of most residents’ homes.

Touring a farmer’s home, we realized that while there is poverty, the form is a simple lifestyle, seemingly unstained by bitterness or envy.

I found myself wondering whether Santa Barbara, with the South Coast’s outstanding natural beauty and similar small scale, is as happy a place as Bhutan. After all, studies consistently show that access to natural environments correlate with lower stress, better mental health, and higher life satisfaction.

Santa Barbarans, however, are considerably more individualistic and economically pressured. Our cost of living is high. The great disparity in living standards, not obvious in Bhutan, can leave some Santa Barbarans feeling frustrated.

Bhutanese are overwhelmingly Buddhist, which encourages acceptance of the shape of one’s life without constant resistance. Their appreciation for beauty and wholeness is palpable, without a collateral desire to own or control.

Bhutanese suffer hardships, but their framework allows them to continue to live meaningful lives.

The happiness measures fray when emigration is concerned. Sixty to seventy percent of Bhutanese youth travel abroad for college; only about half return to live.

I witnessed one such departure at the airport. I couldn’t understand the words being spoken, but witnessing the anguish and weeping of young and old, I wondered if someone had died.

Our guide shook his head. He said someone was leaving for Australia, as his own child did a few years ago. He sees it nearly every day and tries not to dwell on the implications of young people emigrating.

Ironically, the very qualities that make Bhutan’s GNH framework compelling to outsiders (the preservation of tradition, the Buddhist values, the slow pace, the ecological commitment) may feel like constraints to ambitious young Bhutanese.

They are educated and globally aware. Many perceive more economic opportunity abroad. They may sense that the traditional framework leaves little room for individual aspirations.

Perhaps AI can improve the emigration equation in Bhutan. The Covid era awakened the world to what work could be accomplished from home.

AI tools, alarming in some ways with their scope, may allow Bhutanese youth to return home. They can blend Western education skills with Eastern values in ways we can’t imagine.

What’s the bottom line for Santa Barbarans seeking happiness? We are subject to the GDP trap the kingdom is trying to avoid.

Bill McKibben, in “Here Comes the Sun” says, “the greatest weakness of growth-obsessed societies is that they don’t make us as happy as they claim to; that past a certain point (lower than one might guess) the relationship between ‘more’ and ‘better’ breaks down.”

We don’t aspire to be Disneyland, nor would there be an easy path to the unassuming contentedness that characterizes Bhutanese life. But we can slow down, appreciate the simple things, and realize that happiness may be just a trail, a beach, or a friend away.