March 2025 – Created Curated by Sara Brown

Happiness or Contentment?

Last week it was National Happiness Day. (It does always appear to be the national day of something or other) This got me thinking a bit about what is happiness exactly? We use this word all the time. We often ask ourselves and others are you happy? Many people see “contentedness” and “happiness” as one and the same. In some ways they are similar. When you’re happy, it’s a state of being, influenced by a number of factors, including contentedness.

Happiness- Good fortune or luck in life or in a particular affair. Success- prosperity. The state of pleasurable content of mind which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good. Oxford Dictionary

Does this mean if you are not successful and haven’t acquired all that you want, you can’t be happy? What do we really need to be happy and is this different for different people? We think, “I’ll be happy when I get married” or “I’ll be more satisfied at work when I get a promotion.” So, convinced are we, that all will be great, when we buy that luxury car or go on a dream holiday. The truth is that a feeling of happiness can be created right now, regardless of our circumstances.

Happiness is an emotion and this can be short- lived, it comes and goes. So, if we are focusing on happiness alone this can lead to a constant pursuit of external validation. In the Western world we are obsessed about our happiness, but in many ancient cultures they don’t even have a word for happiness and focus instead on contentment.

Chokkshay- is the word used by a group of Nomads in the Himalayas. This translates as The Knowledge of Enough. For many ancient cultures it is seen as right now, right here, everything is perfect as it is. Too often, we get so entrenched in our busy lives that we don’t even notice whats in the now. When we finally come up for air, we focus more on the past or the future, rather than the present.

Contentment- comes from the Latin word of Contentus- which means to hold together intact or to be whole. Contentment is a mindset which stems from accepting things just as they are, including your messy, imperfect self.

Having ones desire bound by what one has. Not disturbed by the desire of anything more or anything different. Satisfied as to reprise. Oxford Dictionary

Contentment is an attitude or state of mind influenced by both external and internal factors and can be longer-lasting. It doesn’t mean not having goals and dreams but about not been unhappy with where you are now. It’s a mindset. People feel discontentment because they think something is lacking in their lives, or they wish that things were different. Contentedness, on the other hand, is a matter of being satisfied with what you have. It focuses on what you have already. You can choose to be content. (Perhaps if you if you choose to be content, you will be happy).

Sometimes people cannot achieve happiness with what they have, even if they have the financial means to provide all the luxury you could desire. Many very wealthy and successful people find themselves unhappy. Seeking external validation is always going to be outside of our control. To gain a sense of satisfaction in our current life is a more sustainable goal. ( If at times harder to achieve). A common fallacy is that material things and personal achievements increase happiness but that’s just not true. The opposite is true, getting more stuff can make us feel worse or lead to wanting even more stuff! A similar effect happens when we base our happiness on personal or professional goals. Celebrities who have every accolade they could ever want, can still feel lost and miserable.

How can we be more content? If we learnt to be more content with the people in our life’s and have a more positive attitude this almost always leads to more harmony. Discontented people tend to be complainers, or grumpy, or negative. That leads understandably to problems both at home, work and in relationships in general.

Determining exactly why your job or your relationship or your physical appearance is making you discontent, can be helpful. As living in unresolved unhappiness only keeps us in the past, dealing with things we can’t change, and makes it hard to move on to better times. External factors such as financial stress, relationship issues, or health problems can make it difficult to find contentment, as these challenges can make life feel hopeless. But by taking the time to appreciate life and the people in your life and learning to enjoy the simple things this can make you feel better or at least that it’s not all bad.

Finding activities that offer a healthy distraction from your feelings of discontentment and frustration do help when things are overwhelming. Gardening or tending plants , listening to music or reading a book all can be enjoyable. I started blogging during a difficult period in my life. And journaling can be a really helpful tool in moving through any discontentment.

Mindfulness this is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. I have some YouTube Videos that I watch and there are quite a few books and information online to explain in greater detail.

Take that first step toward happiness and Contentment. Doing so will be a gift that keep giving back to you for the rest of your life. Count your blessings and smile.

Sports for All- At All Ages

health

I found this article in the Guardian a year ago and I think its an important subject to think about and talk about, particularly as we start to age.

I don’t really regard myself as sporty. Certainly, at school I wasn’t, and often tried to get out of games lessons. I swam a bit as a child and still do when I can, although I prefer swimming when the weather is warmer. I walk as much as I can and practice yoga and have been known to go to a gym once in a while. But is this enough?

Which sports are the best for you and does age make that much difference? Are there ages at which certain sports can have more of an impact on your body?

” Initiatives from Sport England show one factor is key- enjoyment. That can come from the environment, camaraderie or friendship as much as the sport itself. What’s important is to find your niche. The thing you enjoy.” Professor John Brewer

A lot of emphasise is put on winning but does sport have to be competitive? If you are never going to be good enough to play at Wimbledon does that meant you can’t enjoy a few games of tennis at your local park? If a sport gets your endorphins flowing, it’s right for you, whatever age you take it up. Matt Rogan and Kerry Potter’s book All to Play For- writes about Competitive sport may be for the few, but play is for everyone.” Wise words indeed.

Park Play runs free two-hour community play sessions on Saturday mornings in parks across England. Plans are afoot to expand Park Play into Scotland.

We all need more play in our live. Play is a fun, informal, varied, social activity with no particular goal. It’s inclusive and can reach those who don’t think of themselves as sporty.” Rick Jenner,Park Play

Our life’s are busy with work and family commitments particularly for women. And sometimes taking time for exercise falls by the wayside.“In the depths of caring responsibilities, you can feel guilty about taking time out for yourself. The answer is exercise that involves as little faff as possible” says Sports Psychologist Dr Josie Perry.

Today there’s a big selection of online classes, often for a low cost or even free. Some morning and afternoon TV shows feature sessions involving wonderful celebrities like Joe Wicks. Exercise can help to boost cognitive and mental health. Doing something that involves all the family can be fun as well as beneficial to health and well-being.

As we start to age, getting regular exercise can make a difference in the later years. Advice for the over-50s is usually for low- impact activities such as cycling or swimming. But fitness experts are saying weight-bearing activities are crucial, because as we age, muscle mass declines and with it goes strength and eventually, the ability to perform basic tasks. While weight-lifting can conjury up unachievable images for most of us. Mimi Bines, who coaches at women-only gym Lift Studio LDN says “I’ve been training for 10 years and you probably can’t tell! And it’s a fact that older people who lift weights have better bone density than people a lot younger. For women in particular, it’s great to learn performance-based skills after years of weight loss being the only goal.”

YouTube has loads of free tutorials, if you don’t want to go to a gym or find this too costly. I have some light hand-weights and a Kettlebell, these did take a bit of getting used to, but starting slowly, a few times a week as been shown in studies to rebuild muscle tissue in people from ages 50 to 90.

Between the ages of 65 and 74, sedentary time in men and women increases to 10 hours a day. Although some active people will continue to enjoy running and cycling into their 60s, taking up a whole new sport can be daunting for some in later life. Which is quite understandable.

“It’s really important to do something that involves a bit of impact. Though too much can cause problems, higher-impact activities can help maintain bone density. I’d suggest brisk walking uphill and downhill.” Professor John Brewer

Exercise is particularly important to retain strength. If you lose the strength to get out of a chair or bed or to climb the stairs, you start to lose your independence and could even fall which could result in injures. Age UK runs classes around the country, including Pilates and yoga, dance and Tai Chi. It’s never too late to take up some sort of sport or activity. A recent study with an average age of 82, found that the 10% with the least daily physical activity were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as the 10% with the most daily physical activity.

“Cardiovascular and strength fitness can help you retain independence, potentially live longer, but also, importantly, have a better quality of life. What’s more, repetitive learning of a new skill can stimulate brain cells, whatever your age.” Sports scientist Professor John Brewer

So, just by adding a small amount of activity to your life this can have an impact particularity in the aging process. As well as been fun!

Reading For All- World Book Day

Reading and Books

Last week it was World Book Day, this provides the wonderful opportunity to focus on reading for pleasure and supporting children’s autonomy in book choice, and encourages them to read which brings a huge range of benefits to their life’s.

The charity’s mission is to promote reading for pleasure and offers every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own by issuing book tokens. Seeing children dress up as their favourite book characters is just lovely.

Reports have shown how World Book Day introduces children into the world of books and reading by helping all children become book owners, many for the first time, and by supporting a variety of fun activities and experiences essential for building life-long readers.

I come from a family of readers and have loved books from being very young. It’s something we take for granted today. But it’s not that long ago in our history that only the wealthy owned books and many people couldn’t read. Before the start of Public Libraries there were very few options for working-class people.

The Education Act passed in 1880 made attending school compulsory for children between the ages of 5 to 10, however many low-income family sent their children to work rather than to school. And it proved to be impossible to enforce school attendance.

Some industrialists and philanthropists did try to find solutions. Helping to fund free libraries or often affordable ways to read.

The Boots Book- Lovers Library was started in 1898 and run by Boots the Chemist. Florence Boot’s parents had run a book shop and she wanted to find a way that working- class people had access to books. This didn’t close until 1966, when The Public Libraries and Museums act was passed in 1964 which required councils to provide free public libraries.

Andrew Carnegie a Scottish/ American industrialist funded the construction of the Ilkley Town Hall, Free Library, and Assembly Hall, which were built between 1906 and 1908. It was to be financed from £10,000 on a 30-year loan and £3,000 from Carnegie. Today this still remains serving the local community and I hope it continues to. As our Local Libraries offer an invaluable service to the community, offering a space to meet and provide free training and computers to use.

I hope you do find a few hours a day, a week or even once a month to pick up an read a book.