Paradise Now and how to De-Stress

It’s another sunny day in Port Villa, the capital city of the island archipelago of Vanuatu. As the sun rises over the small city, life begins to stir. As the colorful landscape is illuminated, it is complimented by the chirping of many exotic and beautiful birds, combined with the distant sounds of crashing waves. 

Frangipani trees in full bloom reveal white flowers with majestic hues of orange and pink and that emit a fragrant scent reminiscent of a fine Parisian perfume. It’s April, the humidity is low, and the temperature is a comfortable 74 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Citizens of the island archipelago will gradually start the day, with no great urgency. Vanuatu is a beautiful tropical island paradise, where the beach is just a thirty-minute drive away, and your daily troubles are nowhere in sight. Welcome to a land with no military, very little police, only two small prisons, and lots of palm trees. 

It is no surprise that Vanuatu ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world.

The Ni-Vans (the demonym for those from Vanuatu) are some of the kindest and most welcoming people you could ever meet. When a plane of tourists arrives to the small Port Villa airport, they will be greeted by a Vanuatu string band playing rhythmic and upbeat tunes as a welcome to their island. 

With dark skin, blond hair and blue eyes, the Melanesian Ni-Vans can be striking in their appearance. They are an exceeding laid-back people with very colorful personalities. 

Even though Vanuatu is home to over 100 different spoken languages, it has been relatively peaceful since it gained independence from joint French-British rule in 1980. And yet, Vanuatu also has its worries. The archipelago is considered a developing nation, and as such is lacking in many things. 

Because so many of its basic grocery goods are imported, prices are high, while job opportunities are low. On top of this, destructive cyclones and hurricanes regularly strike the island. And yet, despite this, Ni-Vans have proven to be a very resilient people who never forget all the things they should be happy for. 

Not only do they live on a tropical paradise, but as a volcanic archipelago, Vanuatu sports amazingly fertile lands, where a cassava accidentally dropped on the ground begin sprouting up almost immediately.

This happy upbeat atmosphere stands in stark contrast to the daily lives of many Americans. As Americans, many of us simply forget an important part of life which is mastered in Vanuatu; that is, the art of taking things slow. As a car culture, we are literally always on the move. 

When we aren’t commuting somewhere, were planning our next commute. We plan our days as a set of mileposts we much reach within a slim amount of allotted time. If we can’t make our targets in the small amount of time, frustration and pandemonium ensue.

One only must observe the scene at your typical gas station to see how stressed people can get. A man marches angrily to the cashier because the gas pump failed to print a receipt, and now he may be *five* minutes late. In the store, people frantically search for a suitable “instant” sugar-packed refreshment so that they can get out the door immediately. 

Outside, a Jeep mounts the curb just to get to the gas station 15 seconds sooner. At the McDonalds across the street, the drive through is full (even though it is early morning) of sleep deprived and stress filled motorists, waiting for their consignment of carbs from the local assembly line (now known as a restaurant). 

On the interstate overpass above, a driver swerves across three lanes of traffic just to make his exit.  

To spend so much of our emotional and physical energy on this lifestyle of frantic commutes is detrimental to our health, and ultimately not beneficial. We need to be more like the Ni-Vans, less concerned with the minutes of the day, and more concerned with the years of our lives. 

Life should be more than just a nonstop workathon, a relentless push towards arbitrary goals. It should also be a period of reflection, when we can drop everything and just take in the majesty of simply being alive. Here in East Tennessee, we may not have scenic beaches, but we do have some of the most beautiful hills and mountains in the world, complimented by breathtaking clear blue skies. 

Every now and then, we should all stop and reflect upon that vast blue expanse and realize how insignificant those mileposts really are. Ultimately, none of those stressful events matter more than your health, your happiness, or your mental well-being. 

If you are late, people will wait. If you miss a deadline, you can make it up. If the barista at Starbucks gets your latte wrong two times in a row, the third time is always the charm.

But if you wreck your health over things that really don’t matter, life seldom gives you a second chance.  


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