Happiness Is...

Why is mental health still such a taboo? Why do we shy away from talking about it? Why are we afraid to ask our friend who suffers depression, ‘are you okay?’ It isn’t easy to do, but it can make all difference. Over the past couple of years, I have been struggling on and off with some of the worst depression I’ve ever experienced in my life. Although I had amazing things and incredible people in my life, I was still struggling, not even to be happy, but simply to be content. I would get annoyed at myself for not being happy when I should have been. Periods of sadness were followed by periods of numbness, followed by periods of anxiety… and the whole cycle starts over again. I digress, but onto what I really want to talk about.

At the beginning of this year, I went on a filmmaking retreat to Arran. An amazing experience which gave birth to the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on. One night on Arran, at stupid o’clock after one or five too many beers, I started discussing an idea I had had burning at the back of my mind for a while... I wanted to make a documentary on happiness. Not a deep, sentimental drivel doc. But one that was raw and real that simply asked people, “What is Happiness to You?”, “What is it About It That Makes You Happy?”, “How did You Find the Thing That Makes You Happy?”

I am better than I’ve been for a while and although I may not exactly be ‘happy’, I am, at the moment, in a position where I can say I am quite content. But I am super excited to announce that idea has come to fruition!

After many more serious and sober conversations, myself and Lauren, whom I’d met on Arran, decided to form a production company. And amazingly got funding to make a feature length documentary from the incredible AYAN (Ayrshire Youth Arts Network) and throughout July we will be travelling the length of Scotland, starting from Samye Ling, the Buddhist Monastery not far from Lockerbie, we will travel the East coast, making several stops along the way, heading all the way to Orkney before returning down the West coast, asking people just that: “What is Happiness to You?” The film not only being about happiness but also very much about the journey and the people we find along the way. It’s also interesting to note that Scotland and Northern Ireland have a higher level of life satisfaction and happiness than England and Wales do (1) This documentary was planned long before the referendum result but I think it would be a difficult thing to ignore throughout the film and will be interesting to research further.

I could not be more excited for the project, the biggest and most personal of my career.

But I would also like your help. In order to get even more people involved (ambitious, but hey, why not go for it?) I’d like to know what happiness is to you. Is it your family? Friends? Your dog? Money? Sex? Tea? Whatever it is, we’d like you to record a 15-30 second clip stating your name and what happiness is you and send it to harshvibeproductions@gmail.com.

These clips will be cut throughout the documentary as find out what happiness is to people from all over the country and all walks of life. The film will be entered into competitions next year. W could not be more excited for this, it’s going to be an incredible journey. If you would like to get involved or know someone who would, follow us on social media for live updates about the project and our location.

Twitter @HarshvibeP

Instagram @harshvibeproductions

This image was taken at a community building conference I was at and I feel it perfectly captures the project and how it came about.

Dare to dream folks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11885564/Northern-Ireland-and-Scotland-enjoy-highest-life-satisfaction-but-Londoners-suffer-from-inequality.html