Lexikon štěstí – Hayes Megan C. (2022)

People in all societies have long pondered the question of how to live well. This desire connects us like nothing else, yet it also evokes countless interpretations in many languages. Is a good life characterized by sharing food and conversation with our loved ones, captured by the Spanish term sobremesa and the concept of liming from Trinidad and Tobago? Or is good living perhaps better described as the courage and determination to overcome tough times, which is the essence of the Finnish concept of sisu? Can we find the secret to a truly good life by piecing together these fragments of a positive approach to life? Is it possible to multiply the feeling of happiness through the sharing of words? This book precisely aims to explore that. From Danish hygge to the Australian Aboriginal term dadirri, from Catalan seny to Japanese ikigai – within the pages of this book, you will find both familiar and surprising terms, each capturing a different shade of happiness from various corners of the globe. These words reveal both our differences and our shared quest for a fulfilled and well-lived life. The selection of terms in this book is, of course, limited – many words have not been included, and many more still exist only within their own cultures, yet to be discovered by the outside world like buried treasure. The author…