From the time that Christopher Columbus “discovered” the islands of the Caribbean and unleashed centuries of trauma, the inhabitants of these islands have had to learn how to get past the difficulties of their situation and not only survive but thrive.
The people of the Caribbean have gained a reputation for being “happy-go lucky”. There is a strong perception that the Caribbean is a good place to go to escape from it all, to be free of stress. For the people who live here, this is not entirely the reality. But still, there are many lessons that can be gleaned from our history about how to be truly happy that the Caribbean can teach the rest of the world – albeit that we ourselves may need to re-learn some of them.
The first, and most important lesson is that in the face of the abomination of slavery, indentureship, and colonialism, the inhabitants learned that happiness does not depend on outside circumstances. Happiness is an Inside Job. It is possible to be happy if you are determined to be so – if you focus on preserving and growing that part of your spirit that is indestructible.
Of course, in the circumstances, it was extremely difficult to do this on your own. So the second lesson is how critical it is to have a strong support system and form connections. You find support where you can. Over 500+ years this has produced a unique, wondrous, pelau of a model that cuts across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines that demonstrates to the world how a hodge-podge of different groups of people can live, for the most part, in peace and harmony and produce a new hybrid culture – Caribbean!
I do not have the space in this article to explore this at length but I would like to point to three iconic Caribbean “institutions” – the Carnival, the Lime and the “Gayap” or “Lend-hand”. At their best, these illustrate how Caribbean people have learned to embrace and support others so that all can thrive. They also demonstrate the warmth, openness, and generosity of spirit that all the research shows is essential to real happiness.
Lesson #3 in how to keep your spirit alive in the face of difficult circumstances is the value of fun and humour – including how to laugh at yourself. Out of this learning have come the Calypso, the Carnival – especially Jouvert – and the very fine sense of satire that all Caribbean society embraces.
Finally, I will end today by pointing to another critical lesson in surviving and thriving in difficult circumstances – putting your soul/ your spirit into creative outputs. This is why from Cuba and Haiti in the north, all through the island chain to Trinidad in the south, there is such abundance, a cornucopia of art, music, dance and literature. As we all know, it is pressure that produces oil and diamonds.
Is there anything here that you would like me to expand or clarify? I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, additional ideas, etc.
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