This International Day of Happiness, we talk to the amazing Laura about her journey to Stitch, and the things she does to build a life of happiness.
As we get older we can find barriers to happiness popping up. It’s a normal part of life. The key then is what we do about it: do we accept the barriers and burrow into a hole in the ground, or do we become active in addressing our situation and trying new things to build community and create a flourishing, stupendous, springing, sparkling life.
Life Happens
For Laura, a lot of barriers to happiness are “just life happening.” Laura found that her friendships changed over time. “Suddenly there are friends that you are no longer in contact with… my interests also changed.” Laura used to be “a bit of a party animal” and extrovert – someone who enjoyed going out and meeting new people and attending music and shows.
But over time she became more interested in spirituality and her internal world. “I started to prefer being connected and in the moment, rather than surrounded by music or noise. So I realized that suddenly we had less things in common.”
At the same time, Laura was in a major accident that impeded her ability to walk freely. “Activities that I used to do before, like just walking around, going to festivals, things like that, are no longer doable for me. It’s a completely different situation. So I had to find a way to adapt to all of these.”
Laura’s interest in spirituality made it easier to cope with this major change. “It was a very challenging experience … but the fact that I was already on a spiritual journey really, really helped me, because it helped me to look at things with a different perspective.”
Laura found that this perspective helped her deal with what was right in front of her, instead of sinking into self-pity. “Because of my spiritual journey, I knew, okay, so life happens. And most of the time it’s not exactly what we expected. But there isn’t anything that we can’t handle.” Laura was able to stay in the present and focus on solving one thing at a time, “And that helped me to go through this difficult experience in a more positive way.”

Solving for Happiness
Once she was rehabilitated in her apartment, Laura found her injuries kept her indoors more. “At some point I realized that I was still very isolated. My friends were doing different activities… that I was either no longer interested in or no longer able to do.” So she started looking online for opportunities to meet new people in-person.
The first things she tried didn’t work. “I realized that a lot of these things were for younger people, and one thing that was clear to me was that I want to connect with people my age… and that’s how I found Stitch, which met all my conditions! Wonderful.”
From the moment she found it, Laura was hooked. “I don’t even like social media myself, but this was so different… I said ‘Oh wow, this is it.’”
Creating a Stitch Community
There was not a lot happening in her area in the middle of winter. So Laura decided to make it happen. “I decided, OK, so this is exactly what I need: I love the concept. I love this idea. So I will have to make it happen because there’s no one else!”
Laura joined the Community Pioneer Program after only being a member for a month, and has kicked off a number of successful events since then. “The group in Montreal is starting to grow and I have met several people… While I’m doing that, I have enjoyed other online activities and I also enjoy meeting people from around the world. That’s great.”
Laura’s hopes for the future are that someone can join her in supporting an enormous active community in Montreal. “I hope that at some point there will be more people organizing things. That would be really nice.”
Laura’s strength, resilience and optimism in the face of challenges is incredibly inspiring. She says, “that’s something that I’m good at. I love finding a solution and doing research and finding information to solve a problem… that’s how I function. I hope to make things work, and if not, it just becomes the next challenge to solve!”
Laura’s proactive approach to creating happiness embodies what Stitch is all about. Stitchers work together to build the community we all deserve. This International Day of Happiness, each and every Stitch member can be celebrated for adding fun to the lives of others, and contributing to member happiness through every Stitch event we organize and attend.