A Gang You'll Want Your Kid to Join
The words 'gang' or 'posse' have negative connotations for most people. But not for Deborah Bial. After an aha-moment with a college drop-out, she would go on to form the Posse Foundation, one of the most comprehensive college access programs in the United States. How successful is the program? The list of former Posse graduates is undeniably impressive: Harvard grads, doctors, a college dean, a f... posted on Mar 27 2015, 6,233 reads

Black Madonna: A Song of Forgiveness
"In 1981, two white supremacists brutally murdered an eighteen-year-old black boy in Mobile, Alabama. During the trial, there was an astounding moment: one of the men expressed true sorrow for what he had done. Everyone took a breath. And the boy's mother, Beulah Mae Donald, forgave him." The ability of human beings to love, even those who have deeply wronged us, is a recurring source of amazement... posted on Mar 26 2015, 18,645 reads

How To Retrain Your Brain With Three Words
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, authors of the best-selling book 'Freakonomics,' are back again in an effort to help retrain your brain when it comes to solving problems. From small issues to major crises, in fields ranging from business and philanthropy, to sports and politics, Levitt and Dubner offer up a self-help manual for how to think more productively, more creatively, and more rati... posted on Mar 25 2015, 67,259 reads

Can Connection Cure Addiction?
"It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned -- and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction...This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted: There are strong chemical hooks in these drugs, so if we stopped on day twenty-one, our bodies would need the chemical. We would have a ferocious craving. We wo... posted on Mar 24 2015, 28,116 reads

14 Surprising Ways To Boost Your Creativity
One of the most pleasurable aspects of the human mind -- creativity -- also just happens to be one of the mind's most elusive aspects as well. So for many people, it is often very hard to get a firm grasp on the keys that unlock creative potential when searching for it. This article offers up 14 useful ways that could help spark the inner creativity we all yearn for.... posted on Mar 23 2015, 62,578 reads

The Girl Who Gets Gifts From Birds
"Lots of people love the birds in their garden, but it's rare for that affection to be reciprocated. One young girl in Seattle is luckier than most. She feeds the crows in her garden - and they bring her gifts in return." Read on for more about 8-year old Gabi, her generosity toward her winged friends, and their sweet relationship!... posted on Mar 22 2015, 26,584 reads

My Father's Gift
'Gift' is a short film that conveys a profound message on the importance of giving, and the true value of wealth. It illustrates how we touch others when we selflessly give of our time, love and kindness. 'Gift' is about a boy who grew up believing that his father was poor, unintelligent and unsuccessful. After his father's death however, the son discovers the true reach of his parent's generosit... posted on Mar 21 2015, 6,811 reads

Goals & Happiness: A Virtuous Cycle Infographic
The trick to being a happier person? Turns out it may lie in setting small, simple goals that can help you to focus on the important things in your life. This engaging infographic shares some startling data on the truth about happiness, it illustrates how setting goals and being happy are part of a virtuous cycle, and also reveals what kind of goals lead to the greatest joy.... posted on Mar 20 2015, 35,564 reads

The Opposite Of Spoiled & How To Get There
Many parents walk a fine line when trying to teach children about the importance of money: on one hand, they want to make sure not to spoil their children or raise them with a sense of entitlement; and on the other hand they also want to ensure that their kids don't grow up too naive or unaware of the role that money plays. In an effort to address this challenge, Ron Lieber, a columnist for The Ne... posted on Mar 19 2015, 22,239 reads

Mary Oliver: Listening to the World
"Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting / over and over announcing your place in the family of things." In a rare interview, Mary Oliver shares details from her life and her poetry with On Being's Krista Tippett.... posted on Mar 18 2015, 29,138 reads