Good and Grateful
Thanksgiving (celebrated today in the United States) is a tradition of harvest festival that disappears back in the mists of time but probably originated in worship to some form of ‘corn spirit’ in the Americas, and relates to the moon in Asia.  This wonderful expression of gratitude for the bounty of nature is celebrated all over the world and Americans everywhere today will be focussed not only on good things, but also on the good people and providential events in their lives.  It’s a sign of the incredible power of gratitude in our lives (see Newsletter #37) that thanksgiving is the clear winner in the ‘happiest day of the year’ stakes over the pond.  It significantly trumps the happiness gained by the modern present-fest that is Christmas.  The regular act of giving thanks (to each other, to the world, to a god) has measurable and lasting benefits to health and happiness. If you’ve been keeping a Gratitude Diary, please let us know how it’s affected you

We’d be Grateful
...if anyone could offer some time to meet up with selected local neighbourhood groups around the city to help coordinate our Community Voice project. This delightful task involves gathering, engaging and briefing people to take part in a set of free film-making workshopsdesigned topromote inspirationalcommunity action across Bristol.  It’s a flexible and rewarding role involving around 1-3 hours a week between now and March.  If your interested in communities, story telling or film making, give us a call or email  liz@happycity.org.uk for more info.

Happiness in Public
This week, we went public with a statement to Bristol City Council about our intention to showcase Bristol as a Global Leader in Happiness within the next two years.  We offered to present our ideas to the cabinet, and have our fingers crossed for a favourable response!

Happiness in Office
Ten years ago, the Bristol democracy commission published a report offering the direct election of a Mayor as one of three main recommendations to improve local democracy (download the original report here).  On 2nd December, The Festival of Ideas is beginning a series of public debates on this issue, starting with the basic question ‘Should Bristol Have an Elected Mayor?’.  We’ll be there to prompt discussion about the purpose of being a mayor, which (surprise, surprise) we reckon ought to aim for happier cities...

Here are a few interesting spots for interest’s sake

Healthy Community Spot in Lawrence Weston’s new ‘5 Ways Bungalow’ which opens with an afternoon of fun n’ games on 28th November to promote health and wellbeing.

Spot like-minds in Charles Montgomery’s happycity/lab which looked at emotional dynamics in New York and is soon due to visit Berlin.

Cities Spot at Centre for Cities, recommended by the Festival of Ideas in relation to the big debate ‘Should Bristol Have an Elected Mayor?’.

Spots of car sense in sharing journeys for love (Bristol’s careshare/shareacar) or money (Blabla Car).  If you love your car too much to join City Car Club, why not make yours a club car with Moorcar ?

Chicken & Egg spot by psychologist Shawn Smith, who boldly states that ‘actions are more important than feelings’  as he argues that noticing what matters and taking meaningful action is the route to increased happiness.