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 (27,851 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)

See the Seeds of Change Grown by One Bronx Woman , by Chris Peak
first plant that changed my life was a tomato,” says Karen Washington, a black urban farmer in the Bronx. “It was the one fruit that I used to hate.” But after watching one that she’d grown shift in hue from green to yellow to red and taking a bite of it, she was instantly hooked. “When I tasted that tomato, when it was red and it was ripe, and I picked it off the vine, [it]…changed my world because I never tasted anything so good, so sweet. I wanted to grow everything.” For a quarter century, all manner of trees and flowers, fruits and vegetables, have thrived across abandoned lots in the Bronx because of Washington. Deemed &ldq... posted on May 13 2017 (8,407 reads)

What Grace Lee Boggs Would’ve Taught Activists in This Moment , by Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
principles to help you avoid burnout and continue working toward a better world. Thanks to recent events, many people have felt motivated to march in the streets, call their congressional representatives, or even make protest art. People who have never seen themselves as activists are now feeling the need to do something. Veteran activists are facing the challenge of a renewed effort without suffering burnout. Many of us are feeling a sense of fatigue, after months and months of threats to civil liberties, human rights, and the integrity of our institutions. At such a time, we all need to know how to sustain activism over the long run. Mindfulness offers a way. For many o... posted on Jun 23 2017 (10,065 reads)

21 Lessons in Leadership from an Uncommon Master, by Kelly Wendorf
Pignon is a gifted horseman, artist and the original visionary behind the world-renowned equine spectacular Cavalia. I recently had the good fortune of learning from him during a clinic here in New Mexico. In poignant serendipity, his US tour was a last-minute solution to the French government’s continued cancellation of large events (including his) in response to terror attacks. If you watch Frédéric on stage, you’ll see him amidst many fiery horses, freely expressing themselves alongside him in expertly choreographed musical unison—a breathtaking improvisational display of love, passion, reciprocity and trust in action. It... posted on Feb 13 2018 (22,823 reads)

The Happiness Multiplier Effect, by Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz & Clo Copass
How Money Influences Your Happiness (and Vice Versa) For a joyful economy, spread the wealth. Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz and Clo Copass, posted Dec 08, 2017 ... posted on Aug 20 2018 (11,825 reads)

No Better Place to Meet Yourself, by Moussa Ag Assarid
Ag Assarid (MAA): I don’t know my age. I was born in the Sahara desert, with no papers. I was born in a nomadic camp of Touaregs, between Timbuktu and Gao, in the north of Mali. [...] J: What do they do for a living? MAA: We shepherd camels, goats, sheep, cows and donkeys in a kingdom of infinite and of silence… J: Is the desert really so silent? (MAA): If you are on your own in that silence you hear your heart beat. There is no better place to meet yourself. J: What memories do you have of your childhood in the desert? MAA: I wake up with the Sun. The goats of my father are there. They give us milk and meat, and we take them were there is water and ... posted on Mar 22 2018 (11,593 reads)

6 Causes of Burnout at Work, by Jill Suttie
burnout is on the rise, according to several surveys. People are feeling emotionally exhausted, detached from their work and colleagues, and less productive and efficacious. This makes them more likely to suffer health consequences, need sick days, and quit their jobs. Not too surprisingly, burnout has become even more prevalent during the pandemic, particularly among health care professionals, causing widespread concern. But, while many employers recognize the problem, they often don’t recognize the solutions, says journalist Jennifer Moss, author of the new book The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It. ... posted on Nov 22 2021 (5,277 reads)

Mary Ruefle's Stunning Color Spectrum of Sadnesses, by Mary Ruefle
is the dumb silence of slumber or apathy… the fertile silence of awareness, pasturing the soul… the silence of peaceful accord with other persons or communion with the cosmos,” Paul Goodman wrote half a century ago in his taxonomy of the nine kinds of silence. Like silence, sadness too occupies a vast spectrum of hues; sadness too can be menacing — but it can also be beautiful, bountiful in its portality to other realms. Such is the rare, rapturous awareness with which the poet Mary Ruefle paints the color spectrum of sadnesses speckling her slim, miraculous collection of prose poems, meditations, divinations, and deviations My Pr... posted on Aug 21 2022 (5,897 reads)

The Art of Lying Fallow, by Maria Popova
suspect our ability to ask the unanswerable questions that Hannah Arendt knew are the heartbeat of civilization is intimately related to our capacity for dwelling in a particular state of being beyond the realm of our compulsive doing. Bertrand Russell called it “fruitful monotony.” Adam Phillips called it “fertile solitude.” Walt Whitman called it “loafing.” The Buddhist tradition describes it simply as presence. Whatever we may call it, amid a culture of filling the existential void with cultish productivity and an endless stream of dopamine-laced distractions, it is nothing less than a countercultural act of courage and r... posted on Apr 20 2023 (5,066 reads)

Jonathan Haidt: The Psychology of Self-Righteousness, by On Being
it comes to moral judgments, we think we are scientists discovering the truth, but actually we are lawyers arguing for positions we arrived at by other means.” The surprising psychology behind morality is at the heart of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s research. He explains “liberal” and “conservative” not narrowly or necessarily as political affiliations, but as personality types — ways of moving through the world. His self-described “conservative-hating, religion-hating, secular liberal instincts” have been challenged by his own studies. What follows is the transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett... posted on Sep 21 2018 (17,575 reads)

Say Wow: A Conversation with Poet Chelan Harkin, by Awakin Call Editors
follows is the edited transcript of Chelan Harkin's Awakin Call Mark Peters:  So it’s now my honor to introduce Chelan. Chelan has been channeling ecstatic poetry for more than a decade now and has published two popular collections of her work, Susceptible to Light and Let Us Dance: The Stumble and Whirl with the Beloved, both of which were released in 2021. Her books aim to remind readers of their inherent joy, to support modes of relating to life that open the heart, and to deconstruct anything about God that doesn’t feel intimate, authentic, and warm. Her publishing journey has been supported by mystical connections and prayer experim... posted on Apr 1 2023 (4,644 reads)