Rimantė Kulvinskytė: We need to talk about happiness out loud

Has taken over the international tradition

World Happiness Day, initiated by the United Nations, began to be celebrated in 2013 and 2018. Lithuania joined this tradition when this celebration was also held in Kaunas.

In fact, the project “Kaunas European Capital of Culture 2022” had set in its application the goal that Kaunas would become a city of happy people after 2022. In pursuit of this title, we have set ourselves the goal of pursuing it by organic way, and we have found the opportunity to celebrate the Day of Happiness, which has been celebrated long before in many other countries. We started the celebration of Happiness Day in 2018: it was in that first year that we saw an infinite amount of interest from the people, we saw that this celebration is necessary for Lithuanians and they want to celebrate it. So we continue this tradition and hope it continues beyond 2022, which will be one of the yellow days on the calendar that people will especially celebrate. But of course with this day we simply remind everyone that a happy day can be every day, ”said I. Tumaitė.

Focus on emotional health

Each year on this day, a more specific direction is chosen. This year, the focus will be on emotional health.

“We focus on the emotional state of all of us, we want to improve it, so that people inflate a little positivity, realize that there is that light at the end of the tunnel, and that one day, maybe very soon, we can all be together again and celebrate other parties together in one space ”, said I. Tumaitė.

Lithuania ranks 41st in the world in terms of the happiness index. What prevents us from achieving happiness and climbing higher in this ranking? R. Kulvinskytė is convinced that there are no obstacles, and the attitude of the people is already changing: “I think there are many things that have probably happened historically: both the fact that we are a nation of one nation, used to fighting alone against our problems, and the fact that we have historically been abused made any change seem like a threat. After all, even our neighbors betrayed us, we were deported to Siberia, that collective trauma is not so easily diluted, it is still in our blood, it is still full of mistrust in us, we still value modesty as a virtue and focus on ourselves. themselves. , self-care or happiness as vanity. But that is changing and I am very happy about it. “

“The example from Kaunas shows that it is already a rebirth of self-reflection, awareness, concern for our emotional health, and it was probably triggered even more by the quarantine, because we were pushed into the opportunity to be with the person we avoided. . the majority, that is, with ourselves. So I think nobody bothers us: we are incredibly good people, hardworking, loving, devoted friends, incredibly beautiful and we live in perfect nature. So we have all the conditions to be happy, now we just have to allow ourselves to be like that, “said R. Kulvinskytė.

Call happiness to speak out loud

When asked what it takes to experience happiness, R. Kulvinskytė joked that “as they say, if you want to be happy, let it be.”

“I think happiness is basically a question of attitude: what we focus on, our brain will collect evidence. If we say, today is shit day, our brains will say, yes, darling, I will choose for you now the evidence that this is the case: you get in the way everywhere, you only notice the negative things. But if you focus on the positive things, the positivity, that’s what you will notice. So there is, first and foremost, the attitude, as well as the words we use: if we use negative words more often, then we see the world. There is still the practice of gratitude, thinking of three things for which you are grateful here and now, it is right now that that feeling of possession, indecision, reward is born, “he advised.

“In addition, we need to praise ourselves, be more forgiving of ourselves, see ourselves as a friend: we do not spare our friends good words, and we are quite demanding and cruel to ourselves. So probably everything here is awareness and introspection: capturing my negative feeling, asking why I feel so much and what I could do to prevent it from happening ”, considered R. Kulvinskytė.

R. Kulvinskytė is convinced that one should not be afraid to talk about one’s happiness: “Clearly, there is everything in life, and pain is an integral part of our lives. We cannot choose when we will stumble, as the pandemic has shown, but our decision and choice is how long we will kneel. So we need to talk about our happiness out loud to teach our brain to feel happy, because the more we repeat certain things, the more our brain tends to accept it as a greater truth. Much research has shown that the repetition effect, the delusional truth, really works. “

“If we hear that Lithuanians are good people, that they love each other, if we repeat to ourselves that we are the happiest nation, I think that little by little we will believe it and start living with it,” he said.

The celebration will spread throughout the city

I. Tumaitė said that on Saturday March 20, many happy activities await the residents of Kaunas and all of Lithuania. “There will be no sad and serious activities, all of which radiate great energy and good humor,” he said.

Those who want to spend a happy day can look forward to a virtual training with Austra Skujyte, performances, concerts, conversations about happiness, which will be broadcast on their Happy Day Facebook account.

“Kaunas residents should also be prepared for unexpected surprises in Kaunas in various places in the city, walking through Laisvės alley, driving through the streets – so be really vigilant, look for surprises. Of course, we will have a lot of material on a topic that is particularly important to us, the cultural sector; in fact, we are really sick of having the opportunity to open up asap. The whole time we were preparing for Happiness Day was when we were following the news from the Government, and the funny news really came last week that an option had been found to open museums and galleries, so it is during the Day. of the Happiness that we will celebrate. and remember it even more. I would invite everyone to go to museums and galleries, where they will be surprised ”, urged I. Tumaitė.

You can find more information about the event here.