More Wrinkles, More Smiles
Happiness increases with age, surveys say! A recent Gallup poll asked 340,000 people across the United States questions ranging from age and gender, health, personal finances, emotions, and general well-being. They found that negative emotions like worry and sadness drop off after age 50, about the same time happiness sets in. Overall, the trends show that young adults start out feeling pretty goo... posted on Jun 10 2010, 3,186 reads

The Encore Generation
The idea that many workers reaching their mid and late 60s think they are too young to retire and - particularly in the wake of the recession - may have no choice but to keep working, is not particularly new. But with growing evidence of a demographic wrench being thrown into the classic arc of the life course - essentially a bonus decade or three added to the average life span over the last cent... posted on Jun 05 2010, 3,671 reads

It Starts with a Seed
The seed of the idea, Satish Vijaykumar recalls, started as something tiny and simple: "One day I was just sitting and thinking about how the average Indian is always worrying about something, but we don't do anything." One thing that sounded doable to the young man of Mumbai, India was to pool together rupees with friends, buy a few saplings, and plant them. "It's the least I could do," he though... posted on Jun 04 2010, 1,572 reads

The Kindness Habit
"Last winter I was going through a rough patch in my life. I had a bunch of terrible things going on around me. I felt very distant and became quite selfish. I hated the way I was feeling and one day I woke up and told myself, 'You are above this, stop feeling sorry for yourself.' Then I tried out an experiment, and it has definitely changed me for the better. Every day, I would do at least one ac... posted on May 30 2010, 2,766 reads

Deciding to Have Purpose
From the age of 6, Susan Lieu was a powerhouse, answering the phone and removing customers' nail polish at her family's Bay Area nail salon. When she was 12, her world came crashing down when her mother, who had survived a harrowing escape from Vietnam years earlier, died unexpectedly of surgical complications. The experience took much from Lieu, but gave her something that sustains her to this da... posted on May 28 2010, 3,773 reads

Solace through Hot Food
Last month, ash clouds spewed out of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, causing air traffic in Europe to come to a sudden halt. With high hotel costs and expensive airport food, many stranded passengers found themselves tired, hungry, out of money, and making beds out of airport terminal chairs. In response, humanitarian relief organization United Sikhs arrived at London's Heathrow airport and be... posted on May 22 2010, 2,653 reads

The World's Happiest People
"I'm always a happy person," says Nina Nielsen, 24, roaming a bustling street with her mother and friends in Denmark's capital of Copenhagen. In more than one study (including a 2009 report from Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development), residents of Denmark have been designated the happiest people in the world. What's their secret? A well-balanced lifestyle. A positive o... posted on May 20 2010, 6,499 reads

Monks Bolster Earthquake Relief
Long after bulldozers have been silenced and rescue workers have retired to their tents, the only sound in earthquake-battered city Jiegu, China, is the barking of dogs that have lost their homes and owners. As the smoke from a thousand campfires filled the air early one morning, solitary figures shuffled through darkness, heading nowhere in particular. Some, like Tsai Ba Mao, 63, went to a tent o... posted on May 15 2010, 2,020 reads

How Do You Want to be Remembered?
What is our purpose? Who are we? What constitutes a life worthy of being remembered? From anecdotes of a man helping a stranger in a store to the science-based idea that positive thinking fuels meaningful lives, best-selling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal strings together a memorable answer in this 4-minute thought bubble. ... posted on May 10 2010, 11,105 reads

20 Ways to Travel
Imagine a hostel in which revelers tip-toe silently through the dorms, cups of tea appear beside your bed while you're in the shower, and your bill has already been paid when you go to check out! A figment of my imagination? Not necessarily. Inspired by Danny Wallace's book "Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place," Natasha Young offers 20 tips to change the world as you ... posted on May 05 2010, 5,936 reads