Top Five Regrets of the Dying, by Bronnie Ware
many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again.... posted on Feb 23 2012 (261,979 reads)

9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn, by Leo Babauta
in today’s school system are not being prepared well for tomorrow’s world. As someone who went from the corporate world and then the government world to the ever-changing online world, I know how the world of yesterday is rapidly becoming irrelevant. I was trained in the newspaper industry, where we all believed we would be relevant forever — and I now believe will go the way of the horse and buggy. Unfortunately, I was educated in a school system that believed the world in which it existed would remain essentially the same, with minor changes in fashion. We were trained with a skill set that was based on what jobs were most in demand in the 1980s, not what ... posted on Mar 10 2012 (188,324 reads)

How to Find Your Purpose and Do What You Love, by Maria Popova
prestige is the enemy of passion, or how to master the balance of setting boundaries and making friends. “Find something more important than you are,” philosopher Dan Dennett once said in discussing the secret of happiness,“and dedicate your life to it.” But how, exactly, do we find that? Surely, it isn’t by luck. I myself am a firm believer in the power of curiosity and choice as the engine of fulfillment, but precisely how you arrive at your true calling is an intricate and highly individual dance of discovery. Still, there are certain factors — certain choices — that make it easier. Gathered here are insights fr... posted on Apr 22 2012 (56,363 reads)

From Fitzgerald to Reagan: Five Letters of Fatherly Advice, by Maria Popova
secret of success is concentrating interest in life… interest in the small things of nature… In other words to be fully awake to everything.” With Father’s Day around the corner, let’s take a moment to pay heed to some of the wisest, most heart-warming advice from history’s famous dads. Gathered here are five timeless favorites, further perpetuating my well-documented love of the art of letter-writing. F. SCOTT FITZGERALD In a 1933 letter to his 11-year-old daughter Scottie, F. Scott Fitzgeraldproduced this poignant and wise list of things to worry, not worry, and think about, found in the altogether excellent F. ... posted on Jun 17 2012 (20,067 reads)

Happiness: Getting Our Priorities Right, by Mark Williamson
is a vitally important shift underway in how we think about progress. Growing numbers of economists, political leaders and expert commentators are calling for better measures of how well society is doing; measures that track not just our economic standard of living, but our overall quality of life. This shift also mirrors the way many of us are feeling too: that the modern consumer economy has failed to deliver fair outcomes and fulfilling lives. In recent decades our lives have become increasingly orientated in the service of the economy, rather than the other way around. Yet economic growth is really just a means to an end; it only matters if it contributes to social... posted on Jul 25 2012 (16,163 reads)

What Is Your Philosophy of Time?, by Robert Levine
is money in the West. Workers are paid by the hour, lawyers charge by the minute, and advertising is sold by the second ($117,000 per second at this year's Super Bowl). Think about this: The civilized mind has reduced time, the most obscure and amorphous of all intangibles, to the most objective of all quantities -- money. With time and things on the same value scale, I can tell you how many of my working hours equal the price of the computer I am typing on. Can I really? As a social scientist, I've spent much of the last 25 years studying the "personalities" of places. Much of this work has focused on the attitudes toward time held by those who inhabit tho... posted on Nov 9 2012 (24,259 reads)

History's Finest Letters of Motherly Advice, by Maria Popova
year, we celebrated Father’s Day with an omnibus of history’s finest letters of fatherly advice, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Jackson Pollock, and Neil Armstrong. Later adding to them was more timeless epistolary advice from notable dads likeTed Hughes, Sherwood Anderson, Richard Dawkins, and Charles Dickens. It’s only fitting to honor Mother’s Day with a similarly spirited selection of history’s finest motherly advice, spanning nearly half a millennium of poignant and prescient counsel from notable moms. From Anne Sexton: A Self-Portrait in Letters (public library), which also gave us the author’s... posted on May 12 2013 (20,562 reads)

Love's Micro Moments of Connection, by Michael Edwards
sculpture by Robert Indiana in New York. Photo from Wikimedia commons. Can love be a positive force for change in the public sphere as well as in our private lives? If not, Transformation is in trouble: openDemocracy’s new section has staked its future on demonstrating that radical changes are possible in politics and economics when approached in a spirit of human connection and solidarity.  At first glance, there’s an obvious problem with this thesis: can we really “love our enemies,” or even our friends and colleagues who we don’t know very well? Is there any scientific basis for believing that love can stretch beyond the boundaries of our ... posted on Oct 17 2013 (23,364 reads)

Bertrand Russell's 10 Commandments of Teaching, by Maria Popova
not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” British philosopher, mathematician, historian, and social critic Bertrand Russell endures as one of the most intellectually diverse and influential thinkers in modern history, his philosophy of religion in particular having shaped the work of such modern atheism champions as Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins. From the third volume of The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1944-1969 comes this remarkable micro-manifesto, entitled A Liberal Decalogue — a vision for responsibilities of a teacher, in which Russell touches on a number of recurring themes fr... posted on Dec 9 2013 (51,009 reads)

The Real Life Courage of Harry Potter Fans, by Katrina Rabeler
Slack finally read the Harry Potter series when he gave in to pressure from his students who were obsessed with Harry, the teenage wizard who uses magic, courage, and wit to confront dark forces and save the world. Though the plot is fantastical, Slack, like millions before him, couldn't stop talking about the books. But then he realized that if Harry Potter were a real person, he wouldn't just stand around talking about himself. Harry Potter, Slack said, would "fight injustice in our world the way he fought injustice in his." That's when Slack had the idea to mobilize Harry Potter fans around real-world problems—and it was easy for Slack to find ... posted on Feb 25 2014 (30,449 reads)

An Illustrated Poster for People Who Love Their Work, by Maptia
from being a real tongue-twister for non-Scandinavians, ‘Arbejdsglæde’ is a wonderful word that literally means ‘work-love’ or more literally ‘work-glad’. Sadly, there is no direct translation for this word in the English language. Here at Maptia, we loved the concept behind this word so much, that we decided to ask people to help us crowdsource an alternative translation and created an illustrated ‘Translating Arbejisglæde’ poster to share the results. Huge thanks to Ella Frances Sanders for transforming our poster into this colourful illustration. Over 200 people shared three words that described how they felt on a Mon... posted on Apr 28 2021 (40,804 reads)

A Guide To Love, Loss, and Lucky Socks, by Shannon Hayes
tried not to give much thought to the fact that it was Friday the 13th as I sat down with a cup of coffee a little over a week ago and began reading through my emails. My eyes fell on a note from a friend, Melissa. I clicked and read and learned that she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. We are unsure which bay holds my dad until I see a pair of brown woolen socks peeking out from one. The toes are wiggling: a good sign. Melissa is the second of my friends to be diagnosed with breast cancer in the last six weeks and the fourth this year. I am beginning to fear it may be contagious. My fingers hovered over the keys as I tried to think of appropriate words to send Melissa... posted on Sep 7 2014 (17,920 reads)

The Importance of Mindfulness In Children, by Carolyn Gregoire
the growing conversation around mindfulness, we're constantly hearing about meditation in the workplace and tech CEOs who swear by the practice. But less attention is being paid to the quietly growing movement for mindfulness in the family, and the use of meditation to optimize the health, well-being and happiness of children. It's not just adults that can stand to benefit from cultivating a focused awareness on the present moment. Research is beginning to shed light on the power of mindfulness as an intervention for a number of behavioral challenges that children face. We're also starting to recognize that mindfulness practices could be beneficial for children for... posted on Sep 21 2014 (47,065 reads)

Rethinking the Placebo Effect, by Maria Popova
startling physiological effects of loneliness, optimism, and meditation. In 2013, Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted a mind-bending debate on the nature of “nothing” — an inquiry that has occupied thinkers since the dawn of recorded thought and permeates everything from Hamlet’s iconic question to the boldest frontiers of quantum physics. That’s precisely what New Scientist editor-in-chief Jeremy Webb explores with a kaleidoscopic lens in Nothing: Surprising Insights Everywhere from Zero to Oblivion(public library) — a terrific collection of essays and articles exploring everything from vacuum to the birth and death of the universe to how the concept of zer... posted on Sep 13 2014 (27,424 reads)

Walking: The Secret Ingredient for Health, Wealth, and More Exciting Neighborhoods, by Jay Walljasper
been called "America's untrendiest trend." The evidence that millions of people are finally walking again is as solid as the ground beneath our feet. Photo from Shutterstock. Walking is going places. Over recent decades, walking has come to be widely viewed as a slow, tiresome, old-fashioned way to get around. But that’s changing now as Americans recognize that traveling by foot can be a health breakthrough, an economic catalyst, and the route to happiness. Is walking the next big thing? Look to the media to give you an answer. Popular lifestyle magazine Real Simple declared it “America’s Untrendiest Trend” on its Fe... posted on Feb 10 2015 (26,048 reads)

Why Finding Your Passion Is Essential to Maintaining Brain Health, by Sarah McKay, Ph.D
been writing this brain health blog since April, and very quickly it has become one of my life’s great passions—my “north star.” I wake up every morning buzzing with excitement and feeling so blessed I’m doing what I love. Besides trying my hardest to be the best Mum and wife I can be, my passion is writing about neuroscience. My goal is to provide impeccably researched, evidence-based stories that are told in a simple, fun, and compelling way. Your purpose in life, your north star, your passion, your bliss, your inner voice, your wisdom, your calling. What do you call it? I believe what Mastin Kipp from The Daily Love say... posted on Apr 26 2015 (27,850 reads)

Forget About Setting Goals. Focus On This Instead., by James Clear
all have things that we want to achieve in our lives — getting into the better shape, building a successful business, raising a wonderful family, writing a best-selling book, winning a championship, and so on. And for most of us, the path to those things starts by setting a specific and actionable goal. At least, this is how I approached my life until recently. I would set goals for classes I took, for weights that I wanted to lift in the gym, and for clients I wanted in my business. What I’m starting to realize, however, is that when it comes to actually getting things done and making progress in the areas that are important to you, there is a much better way to do thin... posted on Jun 22 2015 (38,007 reads)

How Do You Say Goodbye to a Family Pet?, by Shannon Hayes
my family's dog passed away, I was faced with the question of how to talk to my children about sadness and death. “Somebody just died,” Ula begins. “Somebody was just born,” I answer, smiling. “Somebody is crying,” she responds. “Somebody is laughing.” “Somebody is scared.” “Somebody is watching the rain.” “Somebody is working in the sun.” This is our game. It spontaneously began about two years ago. She usually starts it. It’s something we do privately—our secret way of marveling at the complexity of the world. The kids tease... posted on Jul 23 2015 (20,668 reads)

Does Forgiveness Make Kids Happier?, by Sarah Wheeler
you’re a parent or an educator, insisting that children apologize is a daily—sometimes hourly—occurrence. Apologizing and naming what we’re sorry for (“I’m sorry…that I called you stupid”) is a major part of our culture’s moral education. We even coach children to really “say it like you mean it” and to “think about” what they’ve done when they’ve harmed someone. However, we may be forgetting a crucial step in the process of atonement: forgiveness. New research suggests that we should consider focusing not just on the offender but also on the injured child’s response to a wrongdoi... posted on Jun 19 2016 (17,507 reads)

Get Unstuck: An Excerpt from 'The Art of Possibility', by Rosamund Stone Zander
I was working on The Art of Possibility—a book about changing one’s story rather than battling the world as it appears through the lens of that story—I used to go on weekends in fall and winter to a cabin south of Boston to do the writing. The cabin is on a pond, in front of a cranberry bog, and surrounded by acres of conservation land. It provided everything I needed to get my work done: freedom from interruptions, a relaxed atmosphere, beauty, and quiet. As I looked forward to my very first weekend in my recently purchased hideaway I was extremely excited. I was going to spend three days in an environment in which nothing would disturb my concentration. That ... posted on Feb 27 2017 (14,380 reads)