"Pavel, how did you go today at school? Was it physical education today?
"Dad, I got a couple of good marks, and it wasn't physical education today, but it doesn't matter. You know how close-knit our class is. Today we talked among ourselves and realized that the main subject is really not studying."
"Not studying? What do you think the main subject is? You might not like maths and English, but I know you love to sing. Maybe there aren't enough music lessons?"
"That's not it."
"Then what?"
"We've noticed that not many people are happy in life, only a few. Maybe it's because they didn't all learn how to live happily when they were at school."
"Well, you know, son, at school we learn other things. We have to teach ourselves how to live well."
"Well, yes. And we all do our best. But even so, we asked the teachers for lessons in staying happy on the Earth. They said that the Ministry of Education hadn't approved such a subject, but they agreed to think about it and spend some hours outside class time on the topic of happiness, for those who want to attend."
"Well, tell me sometime about these lessons."
"OK, I will."
A month passes.
"Son, how was school?"
"Wonderful."
"What did the teachers say about you? You can talk to your mom if you need to improve. She was always graded "very good". Oh yes, I remember. How's your extracurricular class on happiness?"
"It's all right, Dad, the teachers are content. And the lesson... You know, our teacher Maria Petrovna, she began to tell us... You see, they consulted with colleagues, and it was hard to know how to do the lesson. But all the same, they summarized the discussions and made a lesson plan."
"What did she tell you?"
"She said that in life you must first obey your parents and behave, and not to indulge. Then we should listen to teachers in school and be attentive in class. We should get a good education and get a job with a good salary. Make a family, have children, raise them correctly. Not to break the laws of society. To have passion and to take care of their health. Not to drink or smoke."
"Well done! She did well! We could use more teachers like that! This lesson is great!"
"Dad!"
"What?"
"Everyone already knows all that! But still, they don't live like that."
"So they're not living correctly! Or they don't know how..."
"I know! They still can't live right. Something is stopping them."
"What do you mean?"
"We should talk with other people who want to know the answer to this question. In class, we began to ask Maria Ivanovna why sometimes one parent goes with another, why there are children without parents, and why parents spend so little time with their children. Most of the time they're busy with their boring, monotonous work."
"That's life, Pavel! You need to work for the benefit of society! Then you get money and spend it on your family."
"Our teacher said the same thing, 'Life is not always easy. On the contrary, you need to be strong, to endure difficult times. Then there will be a lot of happy moments in life, first love, the wedding, the birth of a child...'"
"That's right."
"But we think we can live better."
"Ha! You think you can live better! How about our ancestors? They were always on the brink of starvation. They didn't have all the devices you use. Movies, video games, Internet... The easy life! Washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwaves!"
"But Dad, these devices break sometimes. You need to work to buy them in the first place. And then it's still only a machine, it has nothing to do with human feelings.
"The teacher couldn't answer why some people live together and get married, but don't have children. And then suddenly they get divorced. Why isn't that a crime like the other things?
"She said, 'You are all asking and asking, why don't you answer for yourselves? You, Tanya, what do you think about this?'
"Tanya stood up from behind her desk. She was dressed in a blue dress just below the knee and had long blonde hair. She thought and then she said, 'In the morning, people rush to work, and in the evening they rush back from work. They probably also rush during work. They're always in a hurry and don't have the time to remember that kindness and joy are more important than objects and money, and it is sometimes better to give up short-term pleasures in favor of greater joy in the future.'
"The teacher said, 'That's interesting. And you, Ivan, have you thought about happiness?'
"I've thought a bit,' said Ivan, putting down a pencil. The teacher saw a glimpse of some scenery in the notebook as he closed it.
"'I thought that's what you adults chose to do. There's a lot of advertising on TV, it's often not helpful, it's even harmful. Instead of caviar in our modern shops we have chips, crackers, chewing gum, no real drinks, and the water is tainted with chemical powder. It all came to us from other countries. I don't know how our officials let this happen. And also... many people have forgotten about love. I was told that in other countries, a man can live with a man, as a family, and it's legalized.'
"'And I know what else!' little Andrew said suddenly, standing up. 'Many cases at law are now resolved in favor of money. People who have a lot of money run the processes of society. They think they can buy whatever they want, and that money gives them power over other people. But they don't know that they get no respect or good feelings towards them, because they don't realise that other people's thoughts about us are the most important factor in our own happiness!
"'If schools taught a new discipline, the children of the rich would know that they don't need so much money. Really they need good feelings towards them. They would see that they have to improve the lives of other families, help people be closer to nature, and therefore make everyone more happy.'
"So we began to talk and think about it together. Now we do this once a week, Dad. And not only in that class, but also in the others.
"For the regional teacher's conference, one teacher from our school talked about these lessons. She said they positively affect the consciousness of students. She said that the topic is useful for teachers, even though they are adults. So now they have these classes in all the schools around the city!
"Dad, then we discovered a series of books by V. Megre, "The Ringing Cedars of Russia". The books talk a lot about the meaning of life and people's destiny on the Earth. We read them and now we talk about them too."
After that, the Ministry of Education introduced a whole new idea to help people properly arrange their priorities in life so as to live happily. Scientists, husbands and wives began to write books and manuals for this new discipline, using a lot of the information in the "Ringing Cedars of Russia" series. For example, love was seen as the most important component of happiness. It was seen that we should dive deep into our native culture, revive the festivals and rites that considered the correct approach to life.
How did all of this come about? Only because the students in that class wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education, requesting that they introduce this science of happiness for students around the country. The teachers helped by attaching documents to endorse the usefulness and necessity of this subject, based on the experience they'd had in their school.
..
One day, this will suddenly happen.
"Katya, somehow I caught a glimpse of television today, and I saw an advertisement for McDonald's. It said they've begun to buy fresh products from summer residents, farmers from neighboring villages, and the from inhabitants of family homelands and eco villages. They only serve food made from these nice fruit and vegetables now.
"And they organized something else. It was quite cunning. They went to buy a harvest from some dachas. There was a lot of garbage on the streets, and so they said, 'We'll buy the harvest at the highest price for whoever cleans up all the rubbish near their house.'
"Now the village is clean, and there's a fast food network serving healthy products, all grown by us for ourselves."
"Semyon, you trust everything! They only did that to attract new customers."
"Well, that, too, of course. It's hip to be healthy now. But still, let people go to their cafe and enjoy pure products. I will go to McDonalds now even though I never wanted to before.
"I at first I didn't really believe it, but I kept watching, and then - amazing - there were all the other fast food chains as well! KFC, Burger King, all of them. They're competing for customers, now. They're all buying produce 'from the village', and sometimes they even clean up around the villages themselves, just to make it tidier.
"Now all the local cafes and restaurants have followed their example."
Stories by Pavel