New Story New Way


Language Matters When Creating Change

Diversity, Personal Sovereignty and Community

There were 20 people on the call, people from all over the world. Some people like Kris sat quietly as they listened to the Coffee Connections conversation. Others like Meghan, Kathi and Linda were passionately sharing their ideas.  The question on the table was “I believe Happy Communities __________________. Fill in the blank.

People dove into the deep end and got into the real substance of the question.  Farida, an English teacher from Colombia, wondered whether happiness is possible unless you have the basic needs satisfied first. Asem was raised in Jordan and now lives in the Netherlands. He has observed the corrosive effect wealth has on community cohesion.  Mike lives in a small village in England near Wales. He brought out the importance of how local control over centralized control affects community wellbeing. Others from North America engaged in conversations about family, belonging and caring.

What we have learned … Read the rest

The Price of Doing Good.

The cost of doing good can be painful.

On December 2nd, we had our monthly Happy Community Coffee Connections (The next one is January 6th). Although I had set a topic for discussion, it soon became apparent that the reason people came was to talk about the price they pay for doing good.

It started when Kathi who shared her story of how her project attracted a ‘bully.” Then Linda shared how her well-meaning intentions and generosity were met by those few people whose job in the world is to be mean spirited. She had left personal gifts at the door of those she felt were themselves in need of kindness. Some people with the heart of Grinch felt it was their duty to challenge Linda about her motives, make false accusations about where the money came from, and boost their own self righteousness at Linda’s expense.

Soon, the others at the Coffee Connections started … Read the rest

What would happen if….?

The myth that individual prosperity equals happiness:

Beliefs drive us, not our rational mindsets

About 30 years ago, researchers in psychology and neuroscience made a profound discovery: our beliefs are the main driver of our behavior. They came to the conclusion that humans are not the logical, rational beings we would like to think we are. Instead, we form beliefs that can be irrational, illogical and inconsistent, and we behave according to these beliefs. Have you ever wondered why some people do what you might consider “silly things”, not just once, but consistently?

And then I got to thinking, are the beliefs we hold in the developed world the reason we do things that seem to be making such a dark future for ourselves?

What are the beliefs that we hold dear that enable us to do things so destructive for the environment and our common good? What makes us afraid to challenge the status quo? Why do … Read the rest

Thanks Giving Hope

Thanks Giving Thoughts

Thank Giving is a time to be grateful and hopeful. Lately I have been talking with young people about our future.

Young people are generally terrified for their future. They see the future as a dark place that they do not want to spend to much time thinking about. And who can blame them.

But our future doesn’t have to be so dark. At the Happy Community Project, I have been diligently trying to mitigate our children’s future. And I have found plenty to be grateful for and hopeful for.

Most people today recognize the challenges the future will bring and most people say they want a different outcome than the path we are on. They want a path where we embrace the values for Common Good which transcends environmental, community, political, technological, educational, legal and business domains.  They want us to strive for a higher purpose than economic growth and personal prosperity.

They want us to … Read the rest

Local Business Sponsorship is Lopsided:

How to provide real change in your community without being invisible

The importance of our local businesses is underrated Your local business often doesn’t  get the recognition you deserve from a community sponsorship perspective. As a neighbours and friends, local business provides the backbone support for many of our not for profits and service organizations. Yet these businesses are often lumped in with the same values of big business like Walmart and Amazon. This can feel lopsided.

These larger businesses are driven by bigger profits, and often erode the values that are fundamental to our human experience in our community. When the focus is primarily on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and profits at the expense of the common good, values such as integrity and human respect are eroded and the environment we depend on is abused to the point of no return.

 

Overlooking the positive role small business places in capitalism

Although there is  a strong argument as to … Read the rest

Do social connections include machines?

We are in an epic era of depression and loneliness and the technology world is always there to pick up on an opportunity. But is this the solution we want?

Well, whether we want it or not, people in the AI world are finding ways to take advantage of the commercial opportunities to exploit people’s loneliness.

For example, there are several versions of the hug a bot. You can get anything from a virtual hug to a ‘real’ hug from your favorite machine that adjusts itself to fit you perfectly?

But if you need more than a hug, and you need a best friend to talk to, well there are several contenders coming to the forefront. These Artificial intelligence machines want to be your best friend.  Well actually, Google and Facebook want them to be your best friend.

Of course, sometimes we just need a helping hand. If we are unwell, maybe we need someone to bring us food, medicine … Read the rest

More Happier Communities

Nine communities are becoming more connected, belonging and caring. Is your community next?

… Read the rest

What Happened in Ellershouse NS

Ellershouse is a small rural community of 450 souls about 30 minutes outside of Halifax Nova Scotia. It has always been an active community with a number of events going on in their community hall. Even so, there was a growing concern that the sense of community was slipping away. It was a great place to live, but there was little for youth to do and volunteerism was declining.

Jennifer Whynot stepped forward and said she wanted to do something about it. She reached out to the Happy Community Project at the peak of the Covid pandemic. Together, the Happy Community project and Jennifer created a vision, and a plan.

Jennifer decided the best way to bring the community together was create a community park. With training, coaching and mentoring, Jennifer was able to bring 200 people together to support the idea.

Over a 3 month period, the park emerged. The land was donated, materials were donated and people rolled … Read the rest

The Value of Nothing

How we put value on community

Values define who we are as individuals, and values define who we are as a society. But what do we actually value?

I am reading Mark Carney’s new book “Values.” Carney was the governor of the Bank of Canada and then went on to be the Governor of the Bank of England. He knows a thing or two about values and power of money.

How we fit into economy

The short and sweet of his book is: We have transformed our economy over the last four decades. It used to be that the economy was part of the social fabric of our society, now economy sees society as a resource to be used by the economy and the only things that have value are things with a price tag.

Forty years ago, the market place served the people and supported and honoured societies values. Things like trust, integrity, caring for each other and community … Read the rest

“Demonstrating Resiliency” in the wake of Tragedy

In the wake of the tragic events in April 2020 in which 23 lives were lost, two Nova Scotian communities have come together to honour those whose lives were lost and “demonstrate resiliency” to create a more positive light. The communities of West Colchester and Truro have come together to memorialize the lives that were lost in the horrific events by hosting community events and fundraising to establish a permanent memorial site.

We had the privilege of speaking with Tiffany Ward of Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society on Zoom. She told us how the organization of Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society was born after the vigil following the tragic events that occurred in April 2020. The focus of Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society is to memorialize the 23 lives lost and change how Nova Scotia views West Colchester. Tiffany Ward said it is to “remind us of who we are” in the context of community. Nova Scotia Remembers is helping … Read the rest