How to celebrate
As individuals who make up society, we are finding ourselves further and further from each other. The pandemic has widened the distance between people, the prevalence of remote work has meant that some of us don’t need to meet colleagues on a daily basis. Some time ago, researchers at the University of Chicago conducted a study showing that people who have a high subjective sense of loneliness sit and stand a little further away from their family and friends than people who don’t feel lonely.
If we keep going like this, we’ll get further and further away from each other. It is worth taking remedial steps – let’s try to get closer to our loved ones. Here we want to inspire you on how to do it.
Passions through Generations!
How about painting? Draw together with your Children. Draw the Ideal World – in the process you will learn how they imagine it.
How about cooking? Folk wisdom says that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach – eating meals prepared together is a great bonding experience.
Passions can range from conquering eight-thousand-meter peaks to collecting mugs with kittens. if you include your loved ones or join in their passions yourself, you will discover a whole new dimension of being with each other.
Be with each other at least on International Day of Families, May 15. And best of all – be with each other regularly. You will see for yourself how great it is for the quality of life.
We will be asking this year’s Ambassadors of the campaign about their passions, who will it be? That’s a surprise for now!
Reach for art, visit a museum! See a movie together!
There are different definitions of artistic activity, but most people are more likely to agree with the statement that when we interact with art, we get to know the world through the prism of the artist’s sensibility. Why not do it with the people who are closest to us?
Go to the cinema or theater, visit a museum, listen to music together. Even a series on Netflix would be a good choice. The most important thing is that you experience it TOGETHER. Exchange your experiences later.
Maybe your Dad will identify with one of the TV series characters, Mom has never heard a better rendition of Chopin’s mazurkas and Grandma will discover that she is a fan of Tamara Lempicka’s paintings? Check it out! If you are running out of ideas, use our recommendations: here.
How to start a good conversation?
Talk about your dreams and passions: what will you ask a fairy to do? How about your mother? What superpower would you like to wake up with tomorrow? Do you have a common family passion? Has it been in your family for generations? Do you know your grandfather’s childhood passion? What did your grandmother collect when she was in elementary school? Ask them about it!
Nothing connects like memories! Reminisce together: what did you most enjoy playing with your parents or grandparents when you were little? What was an unforgettable childhood treat – what was it? And for your parents/grandparents?
Much has already been said about the positive effect of laughter on health and psyche, so use the shared moments for laughter. Tell each other what was the best prank you did to someone? Ask family members about the strangest thing they’ve ever eaten, or the funniest blunder they’ve faced. Talk about what reliably makes you smile?
Discover the homo ludens in you! Dutch philosopher Johan Huizinga ruled that one of the qualities that distinguish humans from other animals is the need and ability for selfless play. He called this observation the concept of homo ludens, or, translating from Latin – a man who plays. We encourage you to play games together and recommend those that work exceptionally well for bonding!
Recommended collaborative games:
DIXIT – this beautiful and simple card game was created by Jean Louis Roubir, a French doctor working with young people experiencing difficulties in a school environment. It turned out that by having beautiful cards with fairy-tale images and coming up with associations to them, they were able to get to know each other better and learn non-violent communication. What is sitting in the unconscious of your Parents, Friends, Colleagues? Play with them and find out.
TABU – is also a game of associations. You get a word that you have to present to the rest of the team (e.g. “cat”) and a set of words that you can’t use with it (e.g. “animal”, “dog”, “milk”, “meow”, “mouse”). If the team guesses, and you don’t make a mistake and break any taboos, you gain points. It is not unlikely that during the game you will hear the thunderous laughter of the most gloomy member of your Family😊
ASK ME – created by the Humanites Institute, this game contains cards with sets of questions that will help you get to know your family or group of friends better. Do you think you know everything about them? And do you know what cartoon character is the most inspiring to your Mom, what it means to your Dad to be a happy and fulfilled person, what life failure turned out well for your Grandmother? Reach for the ASK ME cards and discover the secrets of the people you think you know very well!!
These are our suggestions, but as long as there are good intentions, all you have to do is dig out of the attic an old ludo board, or take out the cards and play the well-known thousand or Macau. Have fun!
Get out in the fresh air, move around together:
A walk together in a nearby forest is just as good as a regular jogging with your closest people. Do you have a dog? Why not take him for a walk all together once a week – he’ll be delighted. A visit to an aqua park, a climbing wall or a bowling alley can also be a joint activity. It’s good for health and good for bonding..