New center opens with the screening of the documentary, “Happy"

GOSHEN — On World Happy Day, this Friday, Feb. 11, thousands of people will join together in communities across the globe to experience the film “happy” and begin their journeys toward “healthier and happier lives,” a promise made by the directors.

The film will be shown at 4 p.m. Friday in the offices of the new Hudson Valley Center for Kindness & Compassion in Goshen,

“It’s really a monumental event,” said Deb Jones, founder of the center in a press release announcing the opening of her business as well as the showing of the film.

“The movie sheds light on so many areas, particularly the collateral affects when lives are out of balance” from in anxiety, stress, negativity, poor health and indifference to others, she said.

The documentary began as a challenge for award-winning filmmaker Roco Belic when a friend and fellow filmmaker Tom Shadyac pointed to a 2005 article in The New York Times entitled, “A New Measure of Well-Being from a Happy Little Kingdom.”

Both filmmakers became concerned when the article ranked the United States 23rd on its list of happiest countries despite the nation’s wealth and freedoms here.

Decline in kindness What started as a simple inquiry became a four-year research project taking the filmmaker across five continents and 14 countries.

It was long thought that happiness could not be scientifically measured but Belic soon found researchers all over the world conducting studies whose results are brought to light in the movie along with his uplifting observations. The research demonstrates that 50 percent of happiness is genetic with 10 percent related to personal circumstances (jobs, health and finances), and 40 percent in the hands of the individual. In other words, a large part of happiness is controllable.

Jones’ interest in the subject began about 25 years ago when she started to notice a decline in kindness and compassion and a rise in indifference, particularly in the workplace. This led to her starting a training and development company whose workshops touched on difficult subjects, such as bullying in the workplace and how an undercurrent of negativity affects the bottom line.

“It is not enough,” she said, “to ask people to be kinder and expect them to change while they are too focused on themselves. Instead we need to address the root causes of unhappiness through education and awareness so people realign the 40 percent of happiness that is within their control. When that is successful and people are happier, kindness and compassion for others will naturally follow.”

‘A catalyst for change’ The focus of the Kindness & Compassion Center will be to provide individuals, groups and businesses with a variety of workshops and guest speakers who will bring to light the most contemporary thoughts and research on a wide range of subjects in order to improve health, wellness and overall happiness.

““It is my hope that the center will be a catalyst for change,” says Jones, “and that it will be a place where people will feel connected to one another and take it back to their communities.”