What do we picture when we imagine a life well lived? It’s a question that goes to the heart of what defines us as individuals, communities and as a nation. 

For more than a generation our national narrative has taught us that the most important things to focus on are personal ambition, accumulation of wealth and,  perhaps above all else, home ownership. It is a vision of life that places the emphasis on hard work and self-interest, underpinned by the idea that the most responsible citizen is the self-sufficient one.

It is also, of course, largely a myth. Individual happiness and success are rarely fostered in total isolation. 

Rather, they are dependent on a web of social interactions, support and a wider framework of mutually respected norms and behaviours. Indeed, for many of us, personal happiness is inseparable from the wellbeing of those around us – not just family and friends, but our wider communities.

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