An Approach to Life
3 years, 3 months, 22 hours, 52 minutes
21 April 2026
I can’t help feeling if we all adopted the Sri Lankan approach to life, we would all be much happier.
The last 50 years of this nation have seen 26 years of civil war, their tourism-dependent economy obliterated by Covid, a corrupt and incompetent government eventually overthrown by popular uprising, and catastrophic destruction and loss of life in climate events, the most recent a terrible cyclone 5 months ago. And now the Iran war has hammered tourism again and sent fuel prices spiralling. All in a small island of 23 million people.
It would be understandable if Sri Lankans were amongst the most depressed and miserable people in the world. But as I experienced it over the last two weeks, they are quite the opposite.
Nearly everyone smiles. Children play in the open and not, mostly, on their phones. The roads are pure chaos, but there is no aggression, shouting or swearing. The railway stations are looked after with pride and are full of flowers.
It is a tolerant society. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and non believers all co-exist, largely happily. In towns and cities where I was evidently not local, all I experienced was kindness. When the tuk tuk I was in broke down, vehicles stopped and people came out of their houses to help fix it.
Much of the fruit, vegetables, fish and rice that form the majority of the diet comes from the island, and food is prepared with a deep appreciation of the health benefits of different ingredients. Ayurvedic medicine takes a balanced approach to long-term wellbeing. Almost a third of the land of the country is protected in national parks and reserves, with extraordinary biodiversity.
I am not suggesting everything is perfect. Life is very difficult for many. Waste and pollution is an obvious problem in the cities. Most vehicles still run on petrol. The government is heavily indebted.
But I can’t help feeling if we all adopted the Sri Lankan approach to life, we would all be much happier.