Pursuing happiness in the 21st century: Connecting with nature to mitigate environmental problems

As human beings, we all want to pursue happiness in our lives. It is critical to understand how to achieve this goal, particularly in the twenty-first century with a rapidly changing environment. This study will approach this issue methodically by first reviewing the concept of happiness from a utilitarian perspective and adopting the view that happiness is the absence of pain and the presence of pleasure. According to the UNDP 2021 report, the major difficulties facing Thais in the twenty-first century are environmental problems associated with Sustainable Development Goals 13 (climate action) and 14 (life below water). Therefore, the concept of nature connectedness is proposed as a guideline for resolving those environmental problems, as being connected to nature can create happiness in addition to reducing the pain caused by environmental issues. Moreover, the topic of how to become more connected to nature is also discussed.