Finance with Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance

I recently read a book called ‘The Practice of Happiness' by John Kehoe, kindly given to me by my secretary.

Farming with all its complexities, can bring a lot of stress and unhappiness. A culture of hard work, long hours and monotony, seems to go with the territory. Put on top of that issues with Fonterra and weather variations, and with a shortage of cash 'rural happiness” seems to fly out the window. I have seen a number of farmers in tears recently. This shows how much pressure they are under.
If we look at some Eastern cultures, like Vietnam, China and Thailand for example, they are mainly of Buddhist background. That belief is about kindness, happiness and contentment with life and what they have.
Western societies and particularly farmers, have a belief in life, in agriculture, but most have never discussed or been taught, the belief of happiness. The Western world pumps out millions of anti-depressant drugs for our unhappy people. More than that, I know there are many farmers who are now finding themselves on 'happy pills”. Pressures, long hours, no breaks, and monotony may cause depression and the need for anti-depressants.
However, back to the pursuit of rural happiness. Happiness is defined in the dictionary as 'the quality of being happy” and 'the state of pleasurable contentment of mind”.
Happiness is one of our most basic human desires, and yet so little is understood about happiness. What exactly is this feeling of happiness, what causes it, what makes it come, what makes it go away, and could it be permanent?
Is happiness about achieving our goals (more land) for example?
Is it health, wealth, personal fulfilment, or is it a lot more?
From reading the book, and my own understanding of agriculture, of life and life's complexities, I have some ideas about what the issues might be.
We'll dig a little deeper into the pursuit of rural happiness in my next column.
These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought.