Photo courtesy Marsha Kennedy
The second-annual Pursuit of Happiness begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, in the Idyllwild Library’s Community Room. Anyone interested in increasing personal happiness is warmly invited to attend.
It was in January 2015, that four women convened in Idyllwild for the first Pursuit of Happiness course. “It’s not that we weren’t already happy,” said participant Harriet Briant, “but we felt our lives could be enhanced by understanding more about happiness.”
To say that happiness “enhances” life may be putting it mildly. Scientific evidence indicates that happier people have better physical health, live longer and are more resilient. Maybe the best news is that happiness can be learned.
Pursuit of Happiness is a 10-week course, based on materials provided by the U.K.’s Action For Happiness movement that has spread to 170 countries worldwide. The group will meet once a week for two-hour sessions. Each session will be dedicated to exploring a different aspect of happiness: mindfulness, resiliency, gratitude, etc.
Along with reading materials there will be sharing of experiences and an action that each person chooses to focus on for the week. “It keeps it in your consciousness each day as you work on it, so it enhances your life daily,” said Barbara Rayliss.
The Pursuit of Happiness course is being facilitated by Rayliss, Briant, Christine Hunt and Marsha Kennedy. Meetings are free. For more information, visit actionforhappiness.org.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
