From Separation to Reconnection. Happytalism.

In 1997, right after their civil war, I came to Bosnia and Herzegovina as an International Observer with the OSCE/UN. Back then, I was a recent master’s graduate in Peace Studies with a newly written thesis about the need for the ‘Fulfillment of Our Identity to Solve Conflicts”.

So, there I was, at the core of the worst modern civil war in Europe, where neighbors killed each other, driven by the evil combination of fear and exacerbated hate. More than two million people were displaced or executed. I felt heartbroken when I saw the level of destruction, mass graves, and loneliness that war left behind.

One day I was walking down the street and saw a long line of people waiting to vote. An older woman caught my attention, so I decided to talk to her. Her name was Biljana, and she taught me a big lesson that I carry with me since then. She told me: I’ve lost all my family, my house, and most of my friends, but I have not lost my hope to live in peace and to be happy one day again.

Can you imagine? Through all the horror and pain, she hasn’t lost her hope to live in peace and be happy once again. That’s how I understand happytalism, as happy-talism: the process of growing from our shadows and suffering and overcoming the fear to be. I understood that there is a deeper conflict within most conflicts: Over-identification and disconnection with the self.

Today I want to talk about the three points of separation and the three reconnection points that can transform our world for good. By separation, I mean how we separate ourselves from ourselves, from each other, and nature. By reconnection, I mean the ways we can re-establish our bonds with our-self, with each other, and with nature.

When I came home from Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was a new person, determined to find the roots of suffering. I discovered that in order to dissolve suffering, we have to embrace it because happy people do not kill people. On the contrary, they create value and make the world inclusive and caring.

About me

Since then, my life purpose has grown around creating access and education around happiness and wellbeing as preventive skills for conflicts. I founded and co-founded the World Happiness Foundation, the World Happiness Fest (world’s largest forum on happiness and wellbeing),  World Happiness Summit, International Day of Happiness, celebrated every March 20th, programs such as Gross Global Happiness at the United Nations University for Peace, and new paradigms for human progress such as Happytalism.

Disconnection / (re) connection With the Self

I have spent many years at the corporate level and worked with many leaders. Some were inspiring visionaries, and others were incredibly toxic. Wh

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