Find Meaning This May
In his listening tours across the United States, the U.S. Surgeon General noticed a troubling trend: Americans young and old felt “isolated, invisible, and insignificant,” as if their lives did not matter to anyone else. He sounded the alarm in a 2023 public advisory titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community.” The report cites powerful statistics about the dangers of loneliness to our physical and mental health, as it is “associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.” Loneliness is a killer: “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.” We are social creatures, designed to exist connected with others in our community.
This May, the folks at Action for Happiness would like to encourage us to look outward and connect with others. They have put together a calendar of ideas to help us find ways to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
You can download and print the calendar here.
Action for Happiness is a “movement of people taking action to create a happier and kinder world, together.” A non-religious, non-sectarian organization, it helps people “learn evidence-based skills for happier living, feel a sense of belonging and commit to personal action to create more happiness, for ourselves and others.”