I work three days a week at the AMAZING Tameside Arts which runs fab day and night art based sessions for anyone with additional needs. Today we held our first conference and the subject matter was ‘Loneliness’. Now loneliness is a hot topic, its the latest buzz word and research has found that if you can stop people experiencing it, then they are more likely to lead happier and healthier lives. It can affect anyone; the young, old and in-between; men, women, any race, culture. No loneliness does not discriminate.
Today we heard from a range of people who all have different lifestyles and life experiences and guess what….. we all knew what it felt like to be lonely. Some more than others, however we all recognized that things can be done to help reduce it.
Interacting with other people helps, one lady described how she would pass the same lady every day on the street and they would nod or smile at each other until one day the other lady said to her ‘I think its about time we found out each others names!’ This swift interaction with another human always brightened up her day and that’s what the world needs a bit more of. Whether its a nod, a smile, a hello or a chat the main thing is you will never know how much it could change another persons day or your own.
Tameside Arts are fantastic and today was incredible, have a look at the great work they are doing and next time you pass someone in the street, give them a little smile! 🙂
