Arts for Little Hearts: by Melissa Lyon

Ah March ... spring-break, St. Patrick’s Day … and International Happiness Day. Yes, there is a day to celebrate happiness on March 20 - and it’s not just a day full of unicorns and rainbows! There is some real research behind happiness. In fact, happiness can be taught. The Action for Happiness organization outlines these 10 teachable components of happiness:

The Action for Happiness organization also offers some great resources to promote happiness. For example, they have free monthly happiness calendars, book suggestions, and even happiness groups. So with all this information, where do we start? Read on as I want to tell you about two great programs that fit well with the ‘giving’ and ‘exercising’ aspects of happiness.

Arts for Little Hearts -

There is a wonderful program, called Arts for Little Hearts that demonstrates the power of happiness through giving. We would like to invite you to join others in the Kleos community to create a craft or a piece of art, along with a little message to give to sick children in the hospital. Any crafts are accepted and appreciated. Ideas include paintings, drawings, poems, small Lego creations, origami, etc. If you wish to write a message to go with your art, I have created some notecards for you to use. Please contact the office for templates. For privacy reasons, be sure to just use first names when writing messages.

 If you want to participate, please submit your art and message to Kleos either in person or by mail by April 30th. We will then send them off to the Arts for Little Hearts program so that they can distribute them. Let’s work together to brighten the day of some sick children! 

Alinker: A New Way to Exercise -

Along with giving, exercising is said to be one of the ten keys to happiness. I want to let you know about a wonderful mobility tool that may help some of you get more happiness from exercising. It is called an Alinker and it can be best described as a non-motorized walking bike without pedals. Basically, the Alinker is a piece of assistive equipment that allows people with mobility issues to participate in physical activities that they may have struggled with in the past, such as walking for long periods of time.

People like me, who have been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, can get a free Alinker, thanks to the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC. The sign up for this is here. Once approved, you are asked to share a thirty-day journal of your experience with this amazing equipment - other than that it is totally free! If you don’t have Cerebral Palsy and would still like to get an Alinker, the info can be found at thealinker.ca.

Last year I signed up with the BC Cerebral Palsy Association Alinker program and I received a brand new Alinker in just a few weeks!! You can view a story about me using the Alinker on the BC Cerebral Palsy Association Website.  In my own experience, I think that getting one of these was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It has made walking and going outdoors more enjoyable and easier for me. It also has given me a sense of freedom and the urge for trying harder terrains when walking. I highly recommend this tool and I think it is worth looking into. If you want to know more about it from me, comment below and I will get back to you.

App of the Month: Free Rice -

To go along with the theme of happiness and giving, this month’s featured app is called Free Rice - Games For Change. It is an app that tests your knowledge about word definitions while generating donations to the United Nations World Food Program so that they can save “lives in emergencies and building a better future for people driven into hunger by conflict and the impact of climate change” (Free Rice Website). It is free and it can be used both on a tablet or computer. I highly recommend this program as it is a fun way to learn some new words while making a difference to our global community.

Have a great Spring Break everyone! Until next time, Melissa.