What's in it for YOU!

Happiness: All aspects of the children’s museum are beneficial and can spark joy. How does that work for donors? Happiness has been studied in many ways. It’s clear that there is a hierarchy of levels of happiness. If someone is cold and hungry, it’s much harder to think about spirituality. Physical comforts do bring happiness… but only up until a certain degree. Once a person’s basic needs are met, there’s a need for something more: giving! If you’re here at the website of the Children’s Museum of the Galilee, you already know the benefits of giving so in this short article we’re focusing on something called eudaimonia[1]. Eudaimonia is a word that comes from Aristotle’s study on happiness. It could also be translated as well being. According to Plato, eudaimonia is an ultimate state that comes from moral thought and behavior. And how to achieve such a lofty state? One of the key pieces to this puzzle is contribution; that could be your time, your talents, or your treasure. So you see, giving on any level to this project furthers a state of well-being.
            Let’s go one step deeper into the concept of happiness. When we look into the meaning of simcha, the word in Hebrew actually embraces the idea that it’s a communal state. The joy of the individual is the joy of the community. We see this at weddings when all attendees wish each other mazal tov even if they’re not related to the bride or groom. We also talk about being b’simcha--in joy, like it’s a place you can step into. Indeed you can.
            The board at the Children’s Museum of the Galilee is dedicated to creating a place for children to explore and discover in an environment of safety and joy. We are striving to build that happiness into each of the building blocks to get us to built and operational. We’re happy and grateful to share the journey with you. Welcome!


[1] https://positivepsychology.com/eudaimonia/

Photo by Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash