It’s the weekend – hurrah! And you know what that means – yes, it’s your Weekly Words. How have your weeks been? We’ve been enjoying some winter sunshine here in Northwood, and I’ve made the most of it with a couple of lovely mindful walks with Archie Archibald. The weather can switch from glorious to grey and back again in just a matter of hours here, so I know I’m not alone in being keen to make the most of it.
However, rain or shine, we at the Happynesshub are beavering away, and there have been LOTS of very exciting things happening recently. You may recall last week we revealed our amazing collaboration with the brilliant charity Beyond, and the wonderful mental health awareness campaign Inside Out Day, who have come together for the Now and Beyond on Inside Out Day Festival. With just over a week until the big day, Wednesday 3rd February, things are heating up. There are over ONE THOUSAND schools signed up to take part in the festival (yippee!) and we’d love it if you would be happy to encourage any teachers and schools you may know to sign up too (for FREE). They’ll be able to take part in online sessions with mental health experts, have access to a wide variety of top wellbeing resources to be used in class and tune in to live webinars during and after school. We’re delighted to be involved and are providing learning resources from our new Bow-Wowza Wellbeing In Schools Package for children in Key Stage 1 and 2 – more about that soon!
I’ll be sharing more detail next week about the festival, including some of the wonderful celebrities who have given their time to support this fabulous day – and also I will be spreading the word for us all to wear our tops inside out on February 3rd too! We may be in lockdown here in the UK, but every tiny thing we do to support children’s mental health and create awareness around it for our children (and us!) is of value. The wonderful Jo and Julia from Inside Out Day have been pulling so many great resources together to support children’s wellbeing – and to remind us of the campaign motto:
Be kind always…you never know how someone is feeling inside.
My hope is that the work we do here at the Happynesshub and through Bow-Wowza can have a positive impact on the next generation, and for me collaboration with like-minded, heart-driven people with pure intentions is key. Working with the festival team has been such an honour. I find more and more in life, that one brief meeting (or nowadays zoom call!) can lead to an instant connection – and from a tiny seed blossoms something very beautiful. And what started as Bow-Wowza giving some resources and time to the festival, has led to all of us here at Happynesshub HQ gaining so much from our involvement, and growing in so many ways. The gift of giving.
So whether it’s through Bow-Wowza, the Happynesshub, the Now and Beyond on Inside Out Day Festival, or some other means, building bridges that can lead people to greater joy, equanimity and peace is the most important goal. With that, I’ll leave you with a quote from children’s entertainment and positivity icon Mister Rogers:
‘The connections we make in the course of a life… maybe that’s what heaven is.’