If you’d like a small dose of joy, press 1.
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If you’d like a small dose of joy, press 1.

23 Mar If you’d like a small dose of joy, press 1.

Posted at 23:00h in Uncategorized by

I can think of very few times when I’ve been delighted to call a number and hear a recorded voice saying, “Thank you for calling. Press 1 if you…”

…but there’s a first for everything. I recently heard about a free hotline that offers sage advice tailored to your needs and emotional state. You might expect that leading experts and gurus of self-help are offering some coping strategies, but that’s not what this hotline is about. This hotline offers wholesome and delightful life advice doled out by a group of joyful elementary school children.

Ready for a boost of resilience, the girls and I put the call on speakerphone and huddled around as a recorded voice said,

If you’re feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergarteners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.

The free hotline is called PepToc, a public art project from students in Healdsburg, California. It was put together by two art teachers who were inspired by their students’ positive attitudes, continual joy and resilience during these trying times. They prompted the students to think of some helpful advice and encouragement for others, hoping that through this project, students would learn that art is a social practice, a small way of contributing to the world.

Their small project is having quite a large impact, with recent estimates that about 9,000 people are calling per hour.

Here are a few bits of advice and wisdom from the grade schoolers:

If you’re nervous, go get your wallet and spend it on ice cream and shoes.
If you’re feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs.
If you’re mad or frustrated, you can do what you want to do best or you can do flips on the trampoline.
We already like you!
I believe in you.

The girls and I listened to all of the messages with big smiles on our faces. As the kindergarteners laughed, we found ourselves laughing, too. It left me with a lingering smile and a reminder that life is often much less complicated than we make it. And following the great ice cream suggestion, the girls and I set off for a Dairy Queen cherry dipped cone.

Sometimes, pure joy is only a phone call away. If you need a little boost, call 707-998-8410.