October 2023 - The Wellbeing Project

Celebrating ShōkakkōCelebrating Shōkakkō

The Art of Life’s Little Joys

TheMerode’s latest exhibition invites happiness in all its forms to the Wellbeing Summit Brussels

Can the answer to one of life’s greatest questions – what is happiness? – be found in the smallest minutiae of daily life? Shōkakkō, the latest art exhibition at TheMerode club in Brussels, invites us to explore this idea by celebrating the serendipity that comes from cherishing the small and simple. We are thrilled that Shōkakkō will be at the heart of the first Regional Wellbeing Summit in Europe, which TheMerode will host from 16th-17th November, where themes of joy, mindfulness, and wellbeing will converge. Following the success of our Global Summit in 2022, the Wellbeing Summit Brussels will continue building the wellbeing for social change movement by embracing a central theme – “moving from ego to eco” – and embarking on a transformative, multidimensional journey to connect our individual wellbeing with that of our communities and the planet, envisioning a holistic approach to social transformation.

Coined by best-selling author Haruki Murakami, shōkakkō is a Japanese term that captures the essence of small joys — the tiny moments of delight that, while perhaps found in the mundane and ordinary, are foundational steps in our path to happiness. In small sensory experiences and fleeting seconds of feeling, you notice tiny sources of happiness all around you. You might enjoy noticing them by yourself; you light share a smile or a laugh with others as you do so. These are shōkakkō: your humble, quiet, and little pieces of joy.

小確幸 (shōkakkō) • noun • small but certain happiness

23graysc_simian-august_web-59 — Jonathan Monk, Dear Painter Paint Me Again and Again, 2011. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv/Brussels. © GRAYSC

The Shōkakkō exhibition is one that, in representing a community’s views on happiness, puts collective thinking at the heart of contemplations on happiness. The exhibition speaks to the fundamentals of human relationships, offering a step back from individuality in order to focus on the collective and the joys that come from feelings of belonging. With the Wellbeing Summit Brussels’ theme in mind – moving “from ego to eco” – the exhibition seems to suggest that happiness and, to a larger extent, wellbeing, can be found in the sharing of experiences and contemplating life’s joys with others.

23graysc_simian-august_web-25 — Cornelius Annor, Kwame Photooo, 2022, Mixed Media, composed of acrylic painting, fabric and fabric transfer on canvas. Courtesy of Uhoda SA. © GRAYSC

For the exhibition Shōkakkō, TheMerode asked its members their definition of happiness and, embracing the emotional, experiential diversity of their responses, curated a colourful selection of works from 54 artists that embody members’ little joys. Visitors are able to wander around TheMerode and enjoy works from international artists offering views of happiness through a kaleidoscopic lens. As TheMerode’s curator Emmanuelle Indekeu said, “This exhibition doesn’t aspire to redefine happiness, but rather to collectively explore the myriad manifestations of happiness in our lives.”

Consider this art: to capture the epiphanies that heighten our sensitivity to the sheer act of being alive.”

– Patrick Chamoiseau

MEKHITAR GARABEDIAN, Library (Adnan, DeLillo, Godard, Vonnegut) 2019, posters (with Céline Butaye). Courtesy of Baronian Brussels - Knokke. © GRAYSC

As we pursue wellbeing in our work to drive social change, remembering to notice and cherish our own shōkakkō is a beautiful and helpful practice. By slowing down, being mindful, and keeping an eye on the little things in life, we can invite a certain quietude, peace, and happiness into our hearts. We can remind ourselves of the small but mighty power of presence while, in our work as changemakers, we often find ourselves confronting some of life’s biggest challenges.

23graysc_simian-august_web-49 — Dan McCarthy, Waxed Lemon, 2022. Clay, glaze, gold & silver lustre. Courtesy of the artist and rodolphe janssen, Brussels. © GRAYSC

While European readers can enjoy Shōkakkō in-person at TheMerode during the Wellbeing Summit Brussels, the beauty of shōkakkō is its universal presence in all of our lives. To help inspire your own celebration of shōkakkō, we asked members of our community to reflect on the happiness in their own lives. Here’s what they said:

Happiness is…

“Made up of small, simple things that can affect each of us with our own sensitivity. One of the greatest joys for me is my freedom of thought and movement.”

“Looking at the sky first thing in the morning and mentally saying good morning to the world (and sometimes also saying it out loud).”

“A piece of chocolate in the afternoon”.

“Silence and chirps of birds in my 9th-floor home with busy Mexico City hustling below.”

“A good meal and a good drink shared with good friends.”

23graysc_simian-august_web-20 — Fernand Flausch, La dégustation. Pastel and pencil draw. Courtesy of Uhoda SA. © GRAYSC

“My kids’ laughter.”

“I don’t know what happiness is, but I know what makes me happy and that’s more than enough.”

“Happiness is stronger when shared. Let’s embrace the happiness that comes from others, nurture sharing with our loved ones, celebrate the small wonders of life, and seek the spark of happiness in every moment.”

“My job: to convey the emotion of my thoughts to the customer through a dish.”

“The smell of my kitchen when I’m baking.”

“Tasting something I ate as a child and loved. The memories come flooding back.”

23graysc_simian-august_web-8 — Robert Gober, Pillsbury Farina, 2009. Cardboard. Courtesy of Frederick Gordts Collection. © GRAYSC

“When you release the expectations of others you then create your own happiness.”

“Passing by the garden at the entrance to my office office and being in awe by with the flowers and smells.”

“Watering my plants and seeing the sun filter into my apartment.”

“Watching my dog get excited about something.”

“My family. I had the incredible opportunity to grow up in a large family, and they’re my joy. All of them, in so many different ways, with so many different characters, in arguments, in laughter and in moments of sorrow.”

23graysc_simian-august_web-40 — Philippe Graton, My Family watching a solar eclipse, 1999. Silver gelatine print. Courtesy of the artist. © GRAYSC

“Learning, sharing, helping each other and meeting new people.”

“Giving a hug to my kids in the morning or any time of the day.”

“Calm evenings of reading while my partner practices piano.”

“Tranquil night walks in the neighborhood park after dinner.”

“Opening the blinds every morning to let daylight into my home. It feels as if the world is welcoming me into life for one more day.”

“Closing the blinds and putting on my favorite show before bed. I made it through another day and I’m in my safe place. It’s time to rest.”

23graysc_simian-august_web-115 — Marie José Burki, Sometimes shade sometimes light, 2015. Wall-mounted neon tube in pumped red axial neon. Courtesy of Baronian, Brussels - Knokke © GRAYSC

Enjoy the rest of TheMerode’s exhibition Shōkakkō at the Wellbeing Summit Brussels (16-17th November 2023).

Wellbeing in West Africa: How We Gather TogetherWellbeing in West Africa: How We Gather Together

Guest post by:

Carina Ndiaye, Chief Partnerships Office, Tostan

In Senegal, we call it Teraanga. It stands for openness and sharing, meaning: “we invite you to come in.” This cultural norm is present throughout the region and across the continent. Words like Ubuntu in southern Africa portray acknowledgment, respect, and coexistence. In Senegal, through Teraanga, the concept behind the Hindi word Namaste (meaning: “the light in me sees the light in you”) is extended and reinforced to say, “what is mine is yours.” This applies not only materialistically but also to the earth, the sun, the sea, and the unseen. From visitor to member, from transitory to influenced, in our culture, the ‘you’ never stands alone. What affects you also affects me and my community, and community includes anyone who walks our way and crosses our path.

As Tostan agreed to host the first African Wellbeing Summit, joining The Wellbeing Project and key partners hosting similar summits around the world, Teraanga has been a foundational concept for us. It is an entry point into the broader West African cultural systems that value people and their shared history and interconnectedness and that prioritize interdependence over independence.

Our upcoming African Regional Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023 reflects our dedication to embracing community-centered models that resonate with our core values. Locally-driven initiatives and capacity development for communities are critical paths forward, as our CEO Elena Bonometti has pointed out. But at the heart of our vision is Teraanga, where openness and sharing guide us in meeting the multifaceted challenges that our world faces. In Senegal, when challenges arise, a community gathering – referred to as a “pénc” in Wolof – is called to bring together the community for discussion. The Summit will be a globally-connected pénc, embodying the essence of African-based, African-led collaboration and growth in wellbeing. This is not just a “nice to have”; it is essential to our collective wellbeing and social cohesion.

There is a deep respect here for where people come from and for who and how they are. Many traditions create space for people to be seen, acknowledged, and recognized. Through greetings, names, joking, showing respect, and almost countless ways of engaging, we witness and reinforce one another. We see more clearly the threads interweaving our collective well-being. These traditions aren’t technical solutions or abstract topics; they are ways of meeting and gathering together, of creating spaces and openings where we can understand one another, share our perspectives and passions, and work better together.

With over 32 years of experience as a Senegal-based organization, welcoming partners from more than 50 countries far beyond Africa’s border, at our Tostan Training Center, we have come to understand that these ways of welcoming, these traditions for creating space, for seeing and being seen, can be powerful. As our global community seeks to find ways to support increased wellbeing in a context of increasing urgency and challenge, we hope our African Regional Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023 can contribute and share these ways of coming together.

Through our collaborative planning for the Summit, we have found some important themes to explore together. These include mental health, digital wellbeing, wellbeing in the workplace, and others. But the success of our conference won’t be limited to topics, action plans, or best practices. It will also depend on how people feel when they leave, how they can sustain connections, and whether they have found some new ways of inviting change into their lives, their organizations, their work, and our world.

About the African Regional Wellbeing Summit in Dakar and Thiès, Senegal

Join us for the first African Regional Wellbeing Summit in Dakar and Thiès, Senegal, hosted by Tostan from November 29th to December 1st, 2023.

The Summit will be an opportunity to engage in workshops, panels, and social moments to explore wellbeing, especially for those working in service for community-led development, from diverse African perspectives. Discover themes including mental health and its impacts on wellbeing, the role of religion, youth, and digital health.

Four Seasons Under One Sky: Arts as a Collective Approach to Creativity and Healing in South Africa Four Seasons Under One Sky: Arts as a Collective Approach to Creativity and Healing in South Africa

Guest post by:

Marlize Swanpoel

Co-Founder & Director, sp(i)eel arts therapies collective (Cape Town, South Africa)

sp(i)eel is an arts therapies collective (including drama, music, dance/movement, and art) of arts therapists, applied arts practitioners, and arts activists addressing intergenerational and complex trauma in South African communities. Over two centuries of colonialism and the oppressive regime of apartheid has left a nation grappling with systemic inequity and intergenerational trauma. Ongoing poverty and high incidences of violence and crime coupled with a dire lack of mental health services are contributing to complex and ongoing trauma, with more than a quarter of South Africans suffering from probable depression (Craig et al, 2022). This mental health crisis our country is facing is a systemic issue, not an individual one, and it needs a collective response. Our approach to mental health is culturally informed and sees people as each other’s greatest resource and source of support. As a result, our ultimate goal is to develop collective resilience that can affect social change.

Our name, spieel, is derived from two words that have different meanings in the Afrikaans language: “to play” or “mirror”. To “play and mirror” speaks to several reasons for our use of art as a healing tool. It refers to the function of the arts as a mirror to society for expression, reflection, and understanding. It also speaks to the therapeutic aspect of art therapies, where an art form is applied as a mirror to Self for exploration and understanding. Furthermore, it is through the playful nature of the arts that we can connect with our innate creativity.

It also speaks to the therapeutic aspect of art therapies, where an art form is applied as a mirror to Self for exploration and understanding.

In South Africa, access to therapeutic arts programmes is limited and not accessible to everyone. We aim to enable accessibility to the intentional use of various art forms to further have a positive impact on general health, wellbeing, development, and transformation for all.

Given our deep connection with the arts, our story and impacts can best be shared visually. This photo essay illustrates the journey of healing and wellbeing experienced through our Families and Collective Futures programme. It is a resilience-focused, trauma-informed programme that applies the arts and creativity to build psychosocial support systems. These systems are created through research (in collaboration with Brunel University), training, and the implementation of arts-based groups for children and their social circles.

The journey of this programme is presented within the frame of one of our core guiding metaphors: the four seasons. It represents the following. Firstly, just like the seasons, our mental health and wellbeing are not in a fixed state. We experience constant ups and downs. By accessing tools such as embodied awareness, reflexivity, and regulating skills, we can support ourselves and each other to navigate through these seasons of illness and health.

Secondly, this metaphor understands mental health and wellbeing in the context of the ecosystem. Communities are made up of people in different seasons of life. Collective resilience implies that the pressure to bounce back from hardship is not the sole responsibility of the individual. When one person suffers, it affects everyone. Everyone plays a role in collective health; as a collective, we are stronger together.

Collective resilience implies that the pressure to bounce back from hardship is not the sole responsibility of the individual. When one person suffers, it affects everyone.

Lastly, the seasons mirror people’s relationship with nature, and offer a platform to reflect on cultural and indigenous knowledge embracing nature as a source of healing.

We begin our journey in the season of (re)birth: Spring.

SPRING SPRING

Tending to the Soil So the Seedlings Can Thrive

Spieel 1 — Three generations of men raise a baby boy in the air. Cerderberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

In a community workshop, participants create an embodied image of Spring. A healing-centered approach to intergenerational trauma in family systems involves the adults developing reflective and regulating skills to take care of their own mental health, so that they are better aware of unhelpful patterns of relating in their families and community.

Burning David’s Root. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

Arts activist Gershan Lombard facilitates a ritual of gratitude at the end of a community workshop, with the small children keeping a close and curious eye. Culturally-informed psychosocial practice includes honouring indigenous knowledge and spiritual practices of health and wellbeing to share this wisdom with the next generation.

Summer Summer

Young People’s Shining Stories

A Summer of Self-expression: Making our stories known. Robertson, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A group of young women share their story about Summer as a starting point to explore themes of health and wellbeing. It is vital to offer young people multiple ways to share their thoughts and feelings, as words are not always readily available to express their inner worlds. As one participant (grade 11, high school leaner) revealed to us:“You might have noticed that we are a generation that keeps to ourselves, and we don’t trust anyone with our feelings and our thoughts. Especially because we don’t know how to talk about our feelings and our thoughts. You have come to show us that we can also show you through our songs and through our dances how we feel and what we are thinking. And that is freedom.”

Glimmer Boxes shine light on tools for health. Koue Bokkeveld, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A young woman creates her “Glimmer Box”, a tool that supports participants to explore what resources are available to them to support their mental health and wellbeing. These include positive relationships, safe spaces, and activities that regulate their emotional states. Some of these are drawn, painted on stones, or represented by found objects in nature and placed in the box as tangible reminders of available support systems.

“You have come to show us that we can also show you through our songs and through our dances how we feel and what we are thinking. And that is freedom.”

Autumn Autumn

A Season of Trust and Letting Go

Leaning into each other. Worcester, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A couple rests back-to-back and connects with each other’s breath. Our embodied, trauma-informed practice is drawn from Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory as a way to understand the autonomous nervous system’s responses. This helps us understand our reactions to triggers and to develop tools for regulating and finding safety and connection in the present moment. The couple shared afterwards: “My partner and I are having difficulties in our relationship. This workshop has given us the space to sit and just be with each other, to re-connect, and we were able to talk about things. This had a positive influence on our children and family life.”

Bridging generations. Worcester, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

In a workshop for mothers and daughters, mothers embody the support of a bridge, coming together to keep a girl above water. This workshop took place during a time of heavy flooding in the area in which some participants had lost their homes. This role-playing offered a way to express the traumatic experience: “The only way to keep safe is when we all look after each other’s children. We are not alone in this world, and your child is my child,” shared one mother. The embodied work where non-verbal communication is encouraged also supported bonding between mothers and daughters: “Girls don’t open up to parents, this exercise helped us to open up to each other,” said a young participant.

“We are not alone in this world, and your child is my child.”

Women’s circles and cycles. Vlottenburg, 2019. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A group embodies the word “women” in Circles of Support, one of our workshops for women. This workshop explores the female menstrual cycle as its four phases are linked with the four seasons, inviting conversations around menstrual and sexual health, menopause, and mental health and wellbeing. These circles are filled with generational knowledge, beauty, hope, and wisdom. One participant expressed her joy: “My experience was that I can be comfortable with myself as a woman. And I can express my feelings and accept my body. To be a woman is great!

Winter Winter

Embracing the Wisdom of the Elderly

Offering stories to the next generation. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A whole community, including the elderly, adults, youth, and children, are enchanted by a storytelling circle. We witnessed a beautiful moment where the children sat and listened to the stories of the elderly, and asked them questions about the history of their community. Such events where the stories of the elderly are centralized, offer a means to narrate collective and cultural history to the next generation.

Glimmer Maps. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

Elderly men create their own Glimmer Maps to identify their “glimmers”: small moments when we are in a place of connection or regulation, which cues our nervous system to feel safe or calm – the opposite of triggers. They are made by tracing a hand on paper, followed by a symbol of nature representing the Self drawn into the palm. Each finger represents a glimmer with prompts from nature, for example: air for breath, fire for warmth, love, comfort and rest, water for movement, and earth for grounding. Finally, we connect the glimmers to our community, and include the name of a person who makes us feel safe.

Concluding Concluding

One Cycle, Inspiring Another

A core element of the Families and Collective Futures programme is the creative methodology. One participant reflected that the manner in which we engaged with them has helped people to come out of their shell, as “ons mense neem nie maklik deel nie” (“our people do not engage easily”). To help ease our participants out of these shells, we understand several contributing factors help create a sacred and safe space where mental health and wellbeing can be addressed:

A scaffolded approach to introduce arts-based work;

The invitation to engage in any way that feels comfortable;

The knowledge that attendance is voluntary; and

The modeling of respect, tolerance, and kindness.

The above learnings speak to a healing-centered approach to trauma and essentially it is a message of hope. When we work within the ecosystem in a culturally-informed way, it creates space for innate and indigenous knowledge to be heard and received. As a result, when we understand that healing is available to everyone and happens in relation to each other, we can create circles of psychosocial support that are resilient enough to affect social change.

When we understand that healing is available to everyone and happens in relation to each other, we can create circles of psychosocial support that are resilient enough to affect social change.

Glimmers of girlhood: Families and Collective Futures are in our hands. Ganyesa, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

We conclude this photo essay with a reflection of a participant on the theme of seasons and the image of a Glimmer Map, made by a young girl. “Every season produces something for the other season so that, in the end, nature can provide for us. Everything is a circle. And we are all part of the cycle.”

About The Author About The Author

Meet Marlize Swanepoel

Marlize Swanepoel is a Dramatherapist and the founding director of sp(i)eel arts therapies collective, an NPO that addresses intergenerational trauma and co-create community-based models of mental health care that are culturally informed and relevant to the South African context. She serves on the Secretariat of the South African National Arts Therapies Association (SANATA) and is a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town. She is an enthusiastic advocate for the Arts for Health movement in South Africa that speaks to healthcare from a global South perspective. She loves being in spaces of learning, unlearning and dancing.

Grateful: A Journal Reflection on The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network Grateful: A Journal Reflection on The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network

Guest post by:

Charnae Sanders

Program Manager, Co.Act Detroit

Grateful.

In so many ways, this word embodies my feelings and thoughts toward The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network.

My colleague, Kyla Carlsen, and I joined the Ecosystem Network in September of 2022. Though we joined this community of passionate, thoughtful, and dedicated changemakers for a short amount of time compared to when the network first begun, never did I once feel like an intruder.

From the beginning, we were greeted with such warmth and open arms that I knew virtually attending the Wellbeing Forums would be calls that I would eagerly anticipate every quarter. It did not take long for me to be captivated by the illumination of the Ecosystem Network because of the caring people creating and holding this space for changemakers to connect in such an intentional and authentic way.

One of the things I admired most about the network was the way this space was held for members to connect. I don’t ever recall joining a session where we immediately rushed into business or the tasks at hand. Instead, we were encouraged to participate in a collective grounding exercise or share how we were showing up in the space on that day. Taking this intentional pause to get grounded or share how we were honestly feeling was so astonishing to me.

Often in the nonprofit sector, we are hurrying through the day moving from one task or meeting to the next. This simple yet meaningful practice opened my eyes to how I could interact with my colleagues and facilitate meetings within my work differently. While meeting with members of the Collective Leaders Learning Circle program hosted by Co.act Detroit (pictured above), I was able to support with leading wellness practices for our group during some of our convenings. I felt confident to lead these practices thanks to my interactions and experience with members in the Ecosystem Network.

As a participant in this network, I loved being able to connect with other changemakers around the world. It was inspiring to hear about the work others were engaged in and the way they passionately served their communities. I still recall being amazed by Marlize Swanepowel’s presentation on the work she and her team does at Sp(i)eel concerning intergenerational trauma. Being able to connect with others over important and universal topics has made this experience such an insightful one.

One of my favorite gatherings as part of this network was when Anubha Agarwal of The Wellbeing Project shared findings from the Organizational Exploratory Program (OEP). This session resonated with me so deeply because one part of my work at Co.act is to lead our Nonprofit Wellbeing Series, which uplifts the vital connection between self and community care in the nonprofit community. To have the opportunity to hear about another’s wellbeing program and the lessons that have emerged was one I did not take for granted. I appreciated her transparency and that I was able to share some of the similar themes I saw in my work as well. Experiences like these continue to remind me why having collective space for people to convene and share is important.

As bittersweet as it is to say, “farewell” to the Ecosystem Network, I am grateful that there are still spaces for us to connect under The Wellbeing Project, such as through the Inner Wellbeing for Social Change group. To find ourselves in nourishing networks or spaces rooted in community and connectivity that are handled with so much care is something I treasure deeply. It is what I will miss most about the Ecosystem Network. While every beginning has an ending, I am grateful that the spirit of the Ecosystem Network will live on across the work of The Wellbeing Project and through the mindful practices and resources of its members. I have found so much joy, understanding, and inspiration from being a part of this community that I am forever changed and eternally grateful.

About The Author About The Author

Meet Charnae Sanders

Charnae Sanders, a devoted community advocate and Program Manager at Co.act Detroit, is deeply committed to fostering connections and empowering individuals. Her dedication to community development in her hometown of Detroit is evident through her work in curating impactful programs and events, including the Nonprofit Wellbeing Series. As a passionate contributor to the Rest and Liberation Initiative, she actively promotes holistic wellbeing and empowerment, particularly within BIPOC communities.

Charnae’s active involvement in various professional initiatives, such as the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Detroit and The Social Innovation Forum’s Community Organizations Reimagining Ecosystem (CORE) cohort, reflects her continuous efforts in promoting growth and leadership development. Her diverse experiences, including her time with the Challenge Detroit fellowship program and The Black Healing Justice Project, have further enriched her understanding of social impact and community engagement.

Prior to her role at Co.act Detroit, Charnae served as the Public Programs Coordinator at the Detroit Historical Society, utilizing her background in journalism from Central Michigan University. Her passion for writing and poetry has led to publications in renowned outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Detroit Free Press. In her leisure time, she finds joy in writing, traveling, and experiencing the vibrant culture of her beloved city.