raising AWARENESS. promoting OPTIMISM. selling HAPPINESS 
awareness of MND & the joy of life. optimism in the face of difficulty. happiness as an answer , perhaps THE answer.
my mother died earlier than expected, from MND. this is a wasting disease that can strike anyone, and i found out only recently that it occurs earlier than i thought and to far more people than i realised. much research is being done. people with the disease know they will die within a period of months rather than years, and many support groups help them and their families discuss and face this difficulty with dignity. by facing death, many of them lead happy lives for the last months they have.
in our advanced society we often don’t face death, and it strikes as a shock. some people i have spoken to who faced near death experiences decided to change their lives, to focus more on the things important to them, become more optimistic and thus live more in the now and become happier too. facing and accepting death can often allow us to live more fully. happiness is an individual thing, as my coaching in recent years has uncovered. happiness is also a national and transnational thing, focussed on now by governments ie UK and Bhutan, and more recently the UN. simple steps at an individual level can lead to more happiness, and that can spread to others, locally and globally. being happy is a choice, and one worth making – if nick can choose happiness, i am sure more and more people can too.
dreamed up in june/july as a follow on / extension to art project happiness in munich and the vienna happiness project, “miles of smiles” takes happiness on tour… raising awareness and promoting discussion about happiness, optimism and MND…
get involved … ! 1. become more aware, read about MND here. ( if you want to, donate to the MND association directly and let us know ! ) 2. visit an event or help organise one ( provide location and/or sponsor some “miles of smiles” ) 3. become an !ART angel and/or buy the new ArtProject Happiness book (October!)
more info -www.alistairtheoptimist.org http://www.mndiw.org.uk/ http://www.alsmndalliance.org/ www.viennahappinessproject.com and a book for discussion BiPolar World / 16 words of Hope in a messed up world
miles of smiles: words by nigel – art by petronilla
vision of the project: create and find places to hang artwork based on artproject happiness forming a “piece of art” long enough to wrap the world in happiness
September 29, 2011 at 3:05 pm |
I am one rarely to be left speechless having studied journalism and Creative and Performing Arts; words come in floods to me. I watched Nick Vujicic’s video and was left speechless. Not one word had the strength to define his spirit; for it was beyond measure and beyond definition. Not one word.
Melissa.
PS: Thank you Nigel.