writing – Our Happy Notes

This is the video I refer to in the post. Please watch (there are no graphic images, it is just very moving): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBULsD3O5r5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Words continue to feel meaningless but not saying anything surely is more damning. Excuse a few heartfelt musings from me.

Last night I was listening to my late Granny reading a poem in which she recalls how she has always been aware that she and Anne Frank could have changed places. They were only seven weeks apart.

But for the happenstance of where I was born, it could be me in Gaza. It could be any of us in the Middle East. That’s the foundation of empathy I suppose, and humanity is the ability to care about something outside of ourselves.

These are not simple issues. That’s why they’re ongoing. Humans are complex. International relations is human complexity on a grand and incomprehensible scale. What is simple, as far as I’m concerned, is that the genocidal killing of innocent civilians must stop.

Never again means never again for anyone, and saying that you wished less people were dying should not be a controversial topic.

I have varying, moveable, largely ignorant views on this all. I think one of the biggest problems we face nowadays is the inability to have conversations with people that disagree with us. Often we are encouraged to jump to the conclusion that they are a bad person for holding a view we see as wrong, rather than a person with a full life of difference to us and the capacity to love. We must believe in the capacity to change. We must learn how to have complicated, uncomfortable conversations. People will never truly grow if they are afraid to ask questions. And I could be wrong on all of this too – that’s the point.

There are people dying as we speak in Gaza, and now Lebanon.

I am a pacifist, I personally consider any avoidable loss of life a tragedy for all. I feel so sorry for all the families and friends that lost someone on October 7th 2023 – but especially because their relatives’ memories have been used to inflict pain and torture on millions of people. The people that lost their lives deserved better than that. My heart also breaks for the families grieving in Gaza on October 7th 2024, as Isreal continued their ground invasion in the north. And for every life lost, every life lived in fear in the intervening 365 days.

I cannot deal with the noise of a fan in the background, or a car backfiring, or music playing too loudly. I cannot help but think of all the autistic people in Palestine. The 24/7 drone, the constant bombing, screaming, unpredictability. I can only see it as psychological torture.

And while I’m at it – the trauma that will endure, the pain and grief that will continue to cycle, all of the psychological toil and aftermath reaffirms what I have long thought that the western system of individually pathologising people fails to encapsulate the pain, triumph, and humanity that mentally ill and mad people struggle with. Are we going to be diagnosing every single Gazan with PTSD? Or bipolar, as I am diagnosed, which is thought to have traumatic stress as a triggering cause. I hope not. That would seem an insult to the suffering they faced. I hope we learn from this – if for no other reason than I want to see some good come from all this evil – to see human distress and our capabilities to heal and love as more complex than a psychiatric label.

But I digress. Because in order to heal, to have a chance at healing, they need to be alive.

Who am I to say, but maybe in order to have a lasting peace we need first to stop killing?

I don’t usually post my political views on my accounts in this way, and I rarely directly expand on my views on my personal accounts. I don’t want to risk my very being becoming polemic, or contributing to division. But I’m sat here tonight after welcoming a new year group to my university course, safe on my sofa, having been able to access medicine after I was sick all last week, and I’m sat here watching a live stream of what is plausibly a genocide (as far as I’m concerned, it is). And I can’t help but think of how my gran was so haunted by the very fact that the holocaust happened. And I can’t help but think how brave she was, and how maybe if I was a little braver I would do something more, and how maybe doing something more just starts by opening my mouth (or putting words on paper as it may be).

I want to believe in hope. It affects my own survival if I don’t, trust me, I can forget sometimes. I don’t think we live in isolation. I think what we all do matters. A smile can change a life, a conversation can change a world. And I feel powerless with this. So I said something, maybe to ease my own ego, who knows. I hope it means something somewhere.

The UK is still supplying arms to Isreal. The very least we can do is write to our MPs and ask them to stop doing that. And to ask them to do more to put pressure on Isreal to abide by international law – which they are not, that’s not up for debate.

UNWRA and Oxfam have appeals for donations to try and help in Gaza, Lebanon, and across the Middle East, as do individual families.

Thanks for reading my little rant. Sending you love and support, fellow human x

Hello Happies! (Apparently that’s what we’re called now, just came up with it – if you have a better idea do share)

This is a basic guide on how – and why – to write your own Happy Note. There is no set formula, except that you must try to spread joy or motivate and encourage through your words, but it might be helpful to have some ideas. First though, here’s 10 reasons why you should write a Happy Note:

1. Your words could really brighten someone’s day. You never know what someone is going through, so a few kind words found from a stranger could really mean something to them.

2. Even if your note doesn’t have a profound impact on someone else, by consciously writing positive words you are training your brain to think positive thoughts; a happy mindset can change your life.

3. It’s super easy and takes less than 5 minutes, so why not?

4. It’s a great activity for kids to come up with something kind and have fun decorating their note, teaching them skills in creativity and kindness.

5. It helps you to feel good about yourself as you are deciding to do something for someone else and the world around you. This in turn encourages you to do more to aid the causes you are interested in.

6. It’s fun; you can be as artistic as you like because you are in control.

7. You can make a Happy Note wherever and whenever you like: on the go, while watching TV, during a break – it’s up to you!

8. A Happy Note allows you to feel connected to like minded people and be kind to someone else without having to deal with any social interaction, which can be really scary for some people.

9. It’s only a small step towards a happier life and a happier world, so you don’t need to be afraid to give it a go and it doesn’t require a lot of effort – go at your own pace in taking the step. You’re doing great just by reading this!

10. Happy Notes are symbolic in bringing about a more joyful world, and by creating one you are starting the process in making this dream a reality.

So, you’ve decided you want to write your own Happy Note? Great! But where to begin? As we’ve said already, there’s no set formula for your happy note, just so long as it’s full of joy, motivation and/or encouragement. Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide to creating your own Happy Note and some templates. Go spread that positivity!

1. Grab a pen and some paper. If you want you can also grab some other things to jazz up your note such as glitter, Pom Pom or coloured pencils.

2. Decide what you want your note to say. Remember to make it positive, motivational, joyful, encouraging or all four! It could be a quote or a family saying. Perhaps you’d like to tell your story to inspire someone else. Whatever it is, make it kind. (We’ve included some of our fave quotes at the end of this post)

3. If you want, add a little message on the back of your note to let the world know what it is so the movement can spread. You can use this template – or come up with your own:

‘Hi amazing person,
I am a happy note; my purpose is to spread joy, motivate and encourage others. I want the world to be a happy positive place so I’m part of a movement called Our Happy Notes. I hope you’re having a great day, but if not I hope I’ve helped to brighten it a little. Remember it’s ok not to be ok. There are people out there that care. If you want to find out more visit @our.happy.notes on Instagram or http://www.ourhappynote.wordpress.com

4. Choose where you’re going to leave your note – will it be on a train? In a book? On a shelf? Or under a coffee cup? Just make sure it’s somewhere that someone will find it, and it won’t get blown away by the wind.

5. So, you’ve written your first Happy Note, but what now? When the time feels right, write another and spread more joy. In the meantime look around you for the small things you can do to make a difference. Be kind to someone by holding open the door; smiling as you pass; helping carry a shopping bag. And don’t be disheartened if that kindness isn’t returned at first – it’s going to take time, but you are doing something great.

While you’re working towards all this joy for other people it’s possible you may have neglected someone very important: yourself. You can be kind to yourself, it’s not wrong – it’s necessary. When you smile the world smiles with you. It’s a slow process but it is possible (more on this soon).

If all this work for change has got you itching to do more, then we encourage you to find an issue you are passionate about and research so you can apply our principal that a small step can make a big difference to said issue. And while we’re on the topic of passion – if you can find something that sets your soul on fire then it’s going to revolutionise your world. Look into what you are curious about and try out something new. If doing something in person is difficult for you, the internet has a huge variety of courses for you to give a go. We promise it won’t be the end of the world if you try something and don’t like it, so you may as well.

‘You only fail when you stop trying’

‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light’ ~Albus Dumbledore

‘You are enough’

‘Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything it is’ ~Mandy Hale

‘You cannot find peace by avoiding life’ ~ Virginia Woolf

‘Only in the darkness can you see the stars’ ~ Martin Luther King

We hope you’ve enjoyed this short guide and now feel equipped to go forth and create your first Happy Note. You’re part of a movement now – a joyful movement.

If you make a note please do share it with us on Instagram @our.happy.notes or via email: our.happy.notes@gmail.com.

Keep Smiling. X

Tag: writing

A Need to Speak

How to write your own Happy Note (and why you should)