Happiness is not separate from the tragedy of life

Hi friends.

When I started learning neuroscience, and soon after, this blog, I wanted a place to discuss the whimsy and trivial things that made me happy. They felt silly. They still do, sometimes. It feels weird to go share an ice cream at Disneyland while my inbox is packed with harm reduction guides and news headlines. But, mixing my studies and the volunteer hours I do with mutual aid groups, I’ve realized that by separating these parts of myself I’m getting it wrong — and I think that’s part of the problem why few people go out and help.

Community should be our relaxation. It should be our fun. And being in community makes us better citizens. Engaging with friends and neighbors reduces fear. So, why do we separate the work from the fun?

My course of study at Penn is to identify how amusements like theme parks create systems built to make us feel happy when other information systems do not. I’ve focused on the music, and how certain sounds create almost a tribal feeling among people listening together. I’ve looked at how design can de-escalate us and how communal eating encourages us to become more involved in civic matters.

But I have continuously thought of these activities as separate from daily life. And so, when I started to build out my fiscally-sponsored newsroom based on mutual aid, I kept it serious. When I’m writing for The Platia about visiting an encampment of people living on the pier, or when I’m doing a Narcan training, I’ve been leaning on the seriousness of the topic, even though I know those stories and those actions will make me a better, more informed, more empathetic person.

I’ve done quite a bit of work to separate the person who enjoys food and music and magic from the person who is active in tough neighborhood issues, and I think that’s been a mistake, because all of the data and research I’ve compiled shows a strong connection between enjoying life and becoming a strong support network.

I sit in a troubled spot between wanting to make more videos, do more interviews and explore more ways fun makes us a better person… but tie that into the journalism I’m doing at The Platia.

So I’m asking you: If you are okay with me moving this list to one stationary website I run on my own, which means you might receive a few more emails about how to help your community, let me know!

If you are not okay with that, signed up for one thing, and don’t want that, you won’t hurt my feelings if you unsubscribe!

But, it’s coming time for me to make a decision about how all of my research on happiness does impact communities beyond eating together and listening to music. It’s about cooking for someone who needs it, or watching a friend’s child while they take a day off. It’s about planting a native seed garden on your patio, or meeting a business owner who runs a community fridge.

If you haven’t read anything over at The Platia and want a taste, here’s an interview with a 16-year autonomous community in Athens, Greece, and here’s an interview about a cheesesteak legacy, and here’s a sample of “one thing you can do today.”

I welcome all comments. Thank you.

Annemarie.