Unearthing Community Happiness

Unearthing Community Happiness creates the link between strong communities and the prevention of violence on our streets and suggests ways in which we can all contribute to creating harmony in a world that sometimes feels overwhelmingly troubled. Jan explains how, through her life experiences and witnessing other cultures, she has come to realise that society's obsession with material things is a damaging force, and she demonstrates how that can alter our perceptions of what really matters. The ideas she promotes in this book are for changes in direction towards lives which are more people and community focussed. If we are open to her thoughts, we can all make these changes - whether small or large. The changes can be as simple as joining a gardening group, walking with friends, reading to an older neighbour or cooking together. It is all about community, that often overused word, but one which sums up what can lead to happiness, for ourselves and for others.Unearthing Community Happiness talks of ways in which we can, if we are lucky, create something out of nothing. Jan describes projects with which she has been involved over many years, and also projects that have taken off in Wiveliscombe, Wellington, and beyond. What makes most of these initiatives special is that they are entirely community-based, with volunteers from all strands of society coming together to help, innovate, inspire, and involve. Newcomers to the area speak about the great community they have moved into, without perhaps taking on board that it is the people who live here who are making the ideas happen.