What are you thankful for today?

A grateful heart is the spawning ground of blessings. Have you tried sitting in one corner amidst the everyday hustle and bustle to count the many beautiful miracles that have come your way? Believe me, it’s therapeutic. This activity will also keep you sane. It will also keep you happy.

Jeannie Goulbourn told me recently that keeping a happy heart is an assurance of a happy life. That day, we were in her car, on the way to Rockwell for the launch of the Be Happy! Movement of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF). Jeannie, the founder of NGF, was a ball of energy that morning, notwithstanding that her left foot was still a bit swollen due to an infection caused by an insect bite. “There was a big lump there before. I couldn’t walk for weeks,” she told me. But even with the discomfort of not being able to walk around “normally,” she still kept a happy heart. “I have so many things to be thankful for,” she told me as we alighted the car going to the Palm Grove of the Rockwell Club.

The venue was littered with yellow balloons with smileys. I was there to co-emcee the program with Toni Gregory, a board member of the NGF. Judging from the way Toni welcomed me to the event, I was assured that we would have a good time that day.

“The Be Happy! Movement,” Jeannie began to explain to me, “is one of the foundation’s programs to help prevent the rising incidence of depression in the Philippines, which consequently leads to a number of suicides in the country.” She shared the NGF, a non-profit organization, was formed in 2007 in memory of her daughter Natasha Goulbourn who suffered from depression. The foundation’s creation was inspired by the lovely young woman’s love of life and her compassion for others.

(From left) NGF supporters Michelle Ongpin, Chin Palafox, David Drilon and Karima Palafox.

“The Be Happy! Movement is designed to promote a culture of joy and cheerfulness among depressives. And we know that to be happy entails simple, doable and practical routines, activities and habits, which help individuals see the brighter side of life,” Jeannie said.

At the launch, Dr. Lou Casimiro Querubin, a psychiatrist, delivered a comprehensive talk on bringing depression to light. “Depression hurts,” she said. “It affects relationships.” Querubin is a firm believer in the power of the human spirit and the strength of a person’s will to live, survive and be happy.

Querubin said there are telltale signs that a person is entering a depressive state. The emotional symptoms, she said, include sadness, feelings of guilt, brooding, obsessive rumination, irritability and “anhedonia” or the inability to experience pleasure from activities formerly found enjoyable. She added that emotional depression is also characterized by hopelessness, low self-esteem, impaired memory, difficulty in concentrating, anxiety and anger.

As for the physical signs of depression, Querubin mentioned the following: headache, fatigue, disturbed sleep, dizziness, pain (in the chest, limb, abdomen and back), gastrointestinal problem, sexual dysfunction and menstrual problem.

Querubin added that if a person becomes cranky, do not just say that the he or she has sumpong; or if the person becomes a loner and confines himself/herself in the room for hours or days, don’t just regard it as tampo. Even those seemingly simple signs can lead to depression.

To emphasize the importance of depression information, Dr. Ricky Soler, a founding member of the foundation, said, “Knowing what depression is and being aware of the reality that it is a disease that can be treated is the first and decidedly most imperative and crucial step in its management and treatment.”

While serious depression cases need medical attention and counseling, NGF also believes that before real depression sets in, a state of happiness can be created and maintained on a regular and continuing basis.

“This is the goal of the ‘Be Happy!’ movement — to plant small seeds of happiness that can germinate and become more constant, blossoming feelings of joy, pleasure and cheerfulness within ourselves, starting with something as simple as kind gestures, words of encouragement, a smile or a hug,” Jeannie said.

At the launch, David Drilon of K2 Interactive Inc. introduced “My Happy Hour” Facebook page and how NGF is reaching out through social media (www.facebook.com/MyHappyHour). There was an inspiring sharing from RJ Torres of Globe Telecom about his commitment to spreading happiness by random acts of kindness.

Jeannie said NGF’s “Be Happy!” programs include a Give Yourself a Happy Hour line of approach. “A Happy Hour is that time of the day when one willfully chooses to be happy to defy the threats of the blues by exerting efforts as simple as waking up when the sun rises and catching the first flower bloom in the morning or making time to call a friend or relative you haven’t touched base with for a while and laughing generously and wholeheartedly with them. For a woman, it could be an hour to have a quiet moment to herself with ‘happy thoughts’ in mind, and for a man, it could be walking the dog while at the same time doing his physical exercise, especially, but not necessarily, on beautiful sunny days.”

Jeannie concluded, “We endeavor to bring light to depression by enlightening families and individuals on its causes, effects and remedies. There is hope; there is light at the end of the tunnel for everyone. If each one of us can make another person happy every day, what a far, far more beautiful world this would be.”

At the end of the Be Happy! Movement launch, Jeannie asked me again: “What are you thankful for today?” I couldn’t answer her right away because there were so many things in my head. Jeannie was right, a happy heart is the yardstick of a happy life.

Be happy!

(For more information, log on to www.ngf-hope.org or e-mail ngfoundation@gmail.com. You may also call 897-2217, 0917-5584673 or 0917-5724673.)

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or follow me on Twitter  @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)