How To Help Kids Listen to Their Minds, by Richard Schiffman
to help enlighten children is being introduced into classrooms worldwide.   THERE are two jobs that have become a lot more difficult in recent years. One is being a teacher, which was never easy at the best of times. But in an age of virtually unlimited opportunities for distraction and shrinking attention spans, getting kids to focus on their schoolwork can be (with apologies to dentists) like pulling teeth. I know: as a former school aide working with young children in inner-city schools, it was often all that I could manage just to break up fights and keep the decibel level below that of an international airport. Any learning that took place in such an environmen... posted on Sep 10 2014 (25,947 reads)

A Father's Letter To His Five-Year-Old Daughter, by Posted on February 12, 2014 by Kindness Blog
Attwater is dying of a brain tumor, but he isn’t worried about his cancer. Instead, he is trying to save his 5 year-old daughter from her own. Tom Attwater with daughter Kelli and wife Joely He has vowed to raise approximately $820,200.00 for her cancer treatment, even if he wouldn’t be around to see her go through it. Now Tom is almost half way to his fundraising target he is more adamant than ever to reach it. Tragically his deadline is short as his latest scans show his brain tumour is growing. He says: “These days people make bucket lists, and the very top of mine – the one that matters most – is raising money to make sure Kelli gets the ... posted on Nov 12 2014 (64,694 reads)

34 Examples of Heart-Warming Humanity, by Posted on November 3, 2014 by Kindness Blog
You Imagine? Just before aliens finally visit planet Earth, they decide to watch the Earthling’s mainstream news and try and suss us out. If they did, perhaps they would get the impression that we are…less than friendly beings? Even for us Earthlings, watching the constant stream of negativity pumped out in the ‘news’, we can be left feeling despondent, anxious and with less hope for the future. However, the media’s version of events is heavily skewed in favor of those types of negative story. Why is that? Well, that’s a subject for another post. In reality, deep down inside, most of us know that the good outweighs the bad by some distance. Simp... posted on Dec 9 2014 (212,507 reads)

The Beauty of Craft, by Unnikrishnan Raveendranathen
the creative process with master artists and craftspeople in the San Francisco Bay Area. "I want my pots to express timelessness and spontaneity." - Sandy Simon   Simon works at her pottery wheel.   Potter Sandy Simon in her Berkeley studio.   Simon has been a specialist in handmade studio pottery for over 30 years.   Pomo basket weaver Edward Willie sharpens his knife in his Petaluma studio.   Willie first studied basket weaving so he could teach his daughters the dying craft and soon realized that it was a whole lifestyle. He h... posted on Feb 20 2015 (15,648 reads)

Just One Thing: Be Amazed, by Rick Hanson
Hanson reminds us to see existence with delight, awe, gratitude, and wow! We are pleased to bring you another installment of Rick Hanson's Just One Thing (JOT) newsletter, which each week offers a simple practice designed to bring you more joy, more fulfilling relationships, and more peace of mind and heart. Last night, stressing about undone tasks, I glanced in a mirror and saw my T-shirt, with its picture of a galaxy and a little sign sticking up out of its outer swirls, saying “You are here.” A joke gift from my wife, I’ve worn this shirt many times—yet for once it stopped me in my tracks. In William Blake’s phrase, the d... posted on Jan 13 2015 (25,775 reads)

A New Way To Practice Our Values, by Audrey Lin, Birju Pandya
all experienced that moment when something shifts. Often times it’s triggered by the smallest of things. A smile that disarms. A friendly greeting. A grateful pause before a meal. An unexpected compliment, surprise gift, thank-you card, or phone call from an out-of-touch friend.  These micro-moments of lived intention-- small exchanges of kindness, tiny catalysts of gratitude, or brief seconds of mindful attention-- hold incredible potential to transform the trajectory of a day, week, year, or even a life. We notice this a lot around New Years. Whether it’s weight loss, giving up smoking, deepening mindfulness, or any other personal goal, each January 1s... posted on Dec 19 2014 (27,229 reads)

Science Proves That Hugs Can Boost Your Immune System, by Carolyn Gregoire
know that hugs make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. And this feeling, it turns out, could actually ward off stress and protect the immune system, according to new research from Carnegie Mellon University. It's a well-known fact that stress can weaken the immune system. In this study, the researchers sought to determine whether hugs -- like social support more broadly -- could protect individuals from the increased susceptibility to illness brought on by the particular stress that comes with interpersonal conflict. "We know that people experiencing ongoing conflicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses. We also know that people who report having social ... posted on Jan 30 2015 (35,172 reads)

Happiness Goals Countdown, by lifecoachhub
... posted on Mar 20 2015 (35,483 reads)

Wendell Berry on Climate Change: To Save the Future, Live in the Present, by Wendell Berry
Berry. Photo by Guy Mendes. Editor’s note: This excerpt consists of two parts. The first was written in 2013 and the second in 2014. I. [2013] So far as I am concerned, the future has no narrative. The future does not exist until it has become the past. To a very limited extent, prediction has worked. The sun, so far, has set and risen as we have expected it to do. And the world, I suppose, will predictably end, but all of its predicted deadlines, so far, have been wrong. The End of Something—history, the novel, Christianity, the human race, the world—has long been an irresistible subject. Many of the things predicted to end have so far c... posted on May 5 2015 (10,963 reads)

"I Wish My Teacher Had Known..." - Adults on How Teacher Empathy Could Have Changed Their Lives, by Lindsey Weedston
by U.S. Department of Education Kyle Schwartz, an elementary school teacher in Denver, recently came up with an activity for her third-grade class that went viral. Employed at a school where 92 percent of kids qualify for free or reduced lunch , Schwartz was looking for a way to better understand her students. She handed out notecards and asked them to finish this sentence: “I wish my teacher knew…” The results were heart-wrenching: Although it’s a minor problem in comparison to what some of Schwartz’s students are going through, to this day I still wish my teachers had known how hard it was for me to give presentations. ... posted on May 28 2015 (27,440 reads)

Peter Sharp - Reminding Humanity Of Our Common Connection, by inspired.org
Pete’s words… Who/what inspires me: Richard Branson and his ability to constantly strive for a better world. My parents for always believing in me and taking supportive action to allow me to further develop myself. Other people who dare to stand up for and/or support something they truly care about. Best advice: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Be true to yourself and watch the whole world change. A train roars through the night, its passengers staring vacantly out the window or into their smart phones. A young man approaches the front of the carriage and announces: “Ladies and gentlemen, is it just me or is this train sometimes like t... posted on Jun 3 2015 (24,124 reads)

Young Delacroix on the Importance of Solitude in Creative Work and How to Resist Social Distractions, by Maria Popova
yourself with grand and austere ideas of beauty that feed the soul… Seek solitude.” “One can never be alone enough to write,” Susan Sontag lamented in her journal. “People who grow bored in their own company seem to me in danger,” the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky admonished the young. And yet despite the vast creative and psychological benefits of boredom, we have grown so afraid of it that we have unlearned — or refused to learn altogether — the essential art of being alone, so very necessary for contemplation and creative work. The great French artist and dedicated diarist Eugène Delacroi... posted on Jun 24 2015 (13,895 reads)

19 of the Very Best 'Uplifting Photos of the Day', by Kindness Blog
Beings. Animals. Family. Fun. Friendship. Love. Laughter….What more could you need? 1. These are Men who know how to live a little… 2. An Image That Perfectly Captures True Sisterhood… “3-years ago my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer and she had to lose her hair but my mom wasn’t gonna let her little sister go through this alone.” 3. Something Sweet Was Seen Hanging From the Steering Column of a Taxi Cab… 4. Look at This Mother Listening to her Deceased Son’s Heartbeat Inside the Donor Recipient… 5. ‘My Blind Cousin Find... posted on Jul 13 2015 (140,368 reads)

Three Tricks to Help Find Your Flow, by Christine Carter
was the last time you were so focused that time stood still?  Athletes call this mental state being in “The Zone”; psychologists call it “flow” or peak experience, and they have linked it to leading a life of happiness and purpose. Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher who authored theTao Te Ching, called it “doing without doing” or “trying without trying.” I think of this mental state as our “sweet spot,” where we have both great strength and great ease; it’s the mental state when our best work emerges without strain or anxiety. Instead of making our most powerful effort, we get to experience our own effort... posted on Aug 21 2015 (30,417 reads)

The Pleasure of Serving, by Gabriela Mistral
of nature is a yearning for service: The cloud serves, and the wind, and the furrow. Where there is a tree to plant, you be the one. Where there is a mistake to undo, let it be you. You be the one to remove the rock from the field, The hate from human hearts, And the difficulties from the problem. There is joy in being wise and just, But above all there is the beautiful, The immense happiness of serving. How sad the world would be if all was already done. If there was no rosebush to plant, No enterprise to undertake. Do not limit yourself to easy tasks. It's so beautiful to do what others dodge. But don't fall prey to the error that only Great tasks done... posted on Aug 31 2015 (15,074 reads)

The Science of Stress, by Maria Popova
had lived thirty good years before enduring my first food poisoning — odds quite fortunate in the grand scheme of things, but miserably unfortunate in the immediate experience of it. I found myself completely incapacitated to erect the pillars of my daily life — too cognitively foggy to read and write, too physically weak to work out or even meditate. The temporary disability soon elevated the assault on my mind and body to a new height of anguish: an intense experience of stress. Even as I consoled myself with Nabokov’s exceptionally florid account of food poisoning, I couldn’t shake the overwhelming malaise that had engulfed me — somehow, a physical illness ... posted on Sep 28 2015 (17,668 reads)

India's First Shelter for Dogs with Disabilities, by Tanaya Singh
64-year-old, a former senior officer at the State Bank of India, talks about his disabled and wounded dogs like a father about his children—with the same love, affection, warmth, and tenderness. He is a renowned animal rights activist, the Secretary at People for Animals (PFA), Ahmedabad chapter, and an honorary Animal Welfare Officer. But nothing defines Mahendra better that his immense, undying and undiluted love for animals. It was this love that led him to establish India’s first shelter home for dogs living with disabilities. Today, in Ahmedabad, there are 25 happy dogs living comfortably in his shelter. It all started in 1998 when, while taking a midnight stroll, ... posted on Jan 11 2016 (14,672 reads)

One Woman's Efforts to #GivePhotos to Those Who've Never Been Photgraphed, by Allen Murabayashi
the utter ubiquity of photography in the USA, most Americans probably don’t view photography as special. But in impoverished areas around the world, personal photos can be rare. On visits to her birthplace of Kolkata, India, Bipasha Shom frequently took portraits of people she met, and she was struck by how many people lacked access to a camera and had no family photos of her own. Shom hatched an idea to use instant film to bring photography to these people, and she successfully pitched Fujifilm out of the blue. With donated Instax Wide cameras and film in hand, she recently traveled with her husband Chris Manley (Director of Photography for AMC’s Mad Men) and friend/pho... posted on Feb 27 2016 (11,483 reads)

What Makes a Person?: The Seven Layers of Identity in Literature and Life, by Maria Popova
person’s identity,” Amin Maalouf wrote as he contemplated what he so poetically called the genes of the soul, “is like a pattern drawn on a tightly stretched parchment. Touch just one part of it, just one allegiance, and the whole person will react, the whole drum will sound.” And yet we are increasingly pressured to parcel ourselves out in various social contexts, lacerating the parchment of our identity in the process. As Courtney Martin observed in her insightful On Beingconversation with Parker Palmer and Krista Tippett,“It’s never been more asked of us to show up as only slices of ourselves in different places.” Today, as Whitman’... posted on Mar 7 2016 (16,937 reads)

5 Life Lessons from My Specially-Abled Son, by V.R. Ferose
journey as a parent of a specially-abled son has been one of extreme emotions – from disappointment to hope; from pain to joy; from love to anguish – it’s been a journey like never before. When Vivaan was born, one of my close friends sent me Kahlil Gibran’s famous poem On Children. The first verse in the poem is often quoted, but I would still like to share it here. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. My journey as a parent of a differently abled son has been one of extreme emotions &ndash... posted on May 2 2016 (15,193 reads)