December16

Charlie Christy - Executive Director
Bringing Joy
Alice Vo Edwards
Las Vegas: Home Sweet Home
Ms Senior Nevada is composed of seniors
(most were in a MSN Pageant) working
within the organization to bring joy to other
seniors. We share our message of healthy,
happy, active ageing. Our group continues to
find ways to share
our blessings.
Another Christmas
is upon us
and the fact most
of us still have a
few things not
finished from this
year should not
discourage us from going full steam ahead
for Christmas 2016.
In November we were privileged to contribute
to Life Long Dreams. It is really our
honor to participate with this wonderful
group. The annual production (see photo) is
held at Sam’s Town, under the leadership of
Genevieve Dew and Danny Titus.
Their goal is to help “challenged” children
and young adults fulfill their dreams
of performing (this is its ninth year). Their
motto is: Our only “special need” is to perform.
This production is a yearlong effort
with training and practicing; they make
the props, they learn the songs and dances.
Until you’ve witnessed
someone
in a motorized
wheelchair, racing
across the
stage, microphone
in hand
and singing, or
their selected
“beautiful” girl (Queen) being assisted on
her royal walk, you can’t imagine the joy this
brings to them, and to all of us that are fortunate
to witness it.
By the way, MSN keeps growing. Seniors
have so much to contribute. Contact us to see
how you can become involved.
This is your opportunity, there is room for
all to promote health and happiness. Happy
holidays.
I was talking to an
out-of-towner who
was just visiting for an
event and they referred
to Las Vegas as the city
of Babylon. They didn’t
know it, but a gauntlet
has been thrown down
and I accepted the
challenge.
Outsiders often view
Vegas as a party town.
Those of us who live
here and have come to
think of Vegas as home see much more
than the glitz and glamour of the Strip.
Take a moment to stop and appreciate
the life we have here. We breathe clean
air, enjoy gorgeous sunsets, take jaunts
to Red Rock, Mt. Charleston or Valley of
Fire, or perhaps make a day trip of it and
head to Utah, Phoenix, or California.
We enjoy the relatively low cost of living
and more spending power due to no
state income taxes. Life can be very good
here.
Unfortunately, it is far from perfect.
We have problems with healthcare, with
safety, with lack of adequate provisions
for the overall well-being within the
community.
People are lonely, sad, depressed, anxious,
scared and commit suicide so regularly
we are the 8th highest nationwide
for suicide. There are issues that need
to be addressed to help Vegas continue
to evolve in a positive direction for the
good of her citizens.
And that is why Lift Up Vegas was born.
I started the Lift Up Vegas movement
on the premise of wanting to improve
life for Vegas residents; to explore issues
of happiness and well-being, and
provide education and actionable items
that can improve our happiness. We call
ourselves “Happiness Advocates.”
I’d like to think we are not the first
happiness advocates. In fact, I might go
so far as to speculate that Thomas Jefferson
may have been our nation’s first
happiness advocate.
In the Declaration of Independence,
our founding fathers emphasized the
importance of happiness when they
wrote that individuals are endowed with
these unalienable rights, “life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.”
There are plenty of organizations out
there fighting for your rights as they relate
to life and liberty. But if one is not
happy, where will the joy be in that life
or liberty?
In this column, my goal is to share
with you issues that affect the “pursuit
of happiness” in our community, and
action items you can take to get involved
in positive change - for yourself,
for others and for future generations of
Las Vegans.
I hope you will join me on the exciting,
every day journey of lifting up Vegas,
being the best version of yourself,
and helping Vegas be the best version of
herself, also. I dream of a day when our
out of town friends no longer view Vegas
in Babylonian terms, but can instead see
the good we are doing here and admire
us.
Action Steps:
(1) Pay it forward. Buy the unsuspecting
stranger at the drive through or restaurant
a meal anonymously.
(2) Do something nice for someone
today. You’ll feel good, and so will they.
(3) Hug someone. Physical touch is
amazing in how healthy it can be when
used appropriately.
(4) Like and share Lift Up Vegas at
www.facebook.com/LiftUpVegas.
Alice Vo Edwards is the author of “My Best Friend Died” and “Put Away The Razor,”
and founder of the Lift Up Vegas project for inspiring Happiness and Wellbeing in Las
Vegas. Contact Alice at alice@liftupvegas.org
16 www.thevegasvoice.net