Aleksander Gamme shows us what it really means to be happy.

For each of us, a few things in life truly give us bliss.  For some maybe it is sunsets, for others maybe it is watching their children grow up, but Aleksander Gamme did us all a favor to capture true bliss on video.

Alex is a Norwegian adventurer who recently made his way to the South Pole, all alone. He has gone on many adventures before this, including a climb up Mt. Everest, but the video below captures something that can make us all smile, and it is not some grandiose back flip or jump from the stratosphere.  It took him over 3 months to get there and back unsupported.  On his way to the South Pole, as part of the logistics of many adventures of this type, he left behind food and gear to lighten his load…many things, like food, that he would need months later on his way back.What you may not realize for an adventure like this is just how long these solo adventures leave humans by themselves. Not just alone without human contact but without food, without most of the comforts of home, without sanity at times.  Alex went without enough food for so long that he lost 55 pounds before day 86, when he found one of his little presents to himself.  It was the last of his buried treasures.  Since nearly 3 months had gone by since he left this one, his memory of what was left behind was a bit hazy.

He finds cheese doodles, chocolate, Mentos, and he freaks out. He is so happy that he himself, cannot believe that is happening.  He even pauses for a moment, not sure whether it is all real. It is happiness at its purest form, simple joy, alone with some chocolate and cheese doodles. Personally I get more and more excited each time I watch it, possibly because of his Swedish chef voice, possibly because of his mad-scientist/hippie adventurer swagger, regardless, this video should be in everyone’s “Watch when I am feeling down folder.”  It is almost impossible to not smile. Rock on Aleksander, this video is awesome, and congrats on being the first to reach the South Pole without assistance.

I was turned on to this video by the podcast from Radio Lab below, it is an hour long episode titled Bliss and well worth a listen.