Sunday, May 2, 2010 Blind 17-Year-Old Excels in Track  He has skied, done karate, completed triathlons, wrestled, and become such an impressive skateboarder that he attracted the attention of legend Tony Hawk. And, since the age of 2, he has been blind. Now a junior in high school, seventeen-year-old Tommy Carroll runs track and cross-country races by holding his teammates' elbows and listening to their descriptions of distances, obstacles, and the terrain. While more than 60 percent of blind students do not participate in their physical education classes because they are not adapted, Carroll is living proof that anything is possible: "Everybody should try anything they have the opportunity to try. You should never count yourself out." Read More >>
back to top  Saturday, May 1, 2010 Interior Designing for Kindness!  When Christina Van Blake lost her job in February 2009, she fought off depression by offering to design a room in exchange for her client initiating three acts of kindness, asking only that her client pay it forward. Since then, Van Blake has documented 80 clients and 240 acts of kindness in six months! She and fellow designer Joyce Heathcote now run "Design it Forward," a pay-it-forward interior design service that offers free room designs for anyone who will commit three random acts of kindness. Both designers say they see the power of kindness unleashed: "We just need to kind of let it go and see what happens." Read More >>
back to top Friday, April 30, 2010 Learn in your Dreams  Napping after learning something new could help you commit it to memory- as long as you dream, scientist say. They found that people who dream about a new task perform it better on waking than those who don't sleep or dream. Volunteers who napped after learning the layout of a 3D computer maze found their way through the real-life maze quicker than those who didn't. "Every day we are gathering and encountering tremendous amounts of information and new experiences," says Dr. Erin Wamsley, co-author of the study, "our dreams are asking the question, 'How do I use this information to inform my life?'" Read More >>
back to top Thursday, April 29, 2010 The Sound of One Hand Clapping  Richard Whittaker reflects on art and coffee with a stranger: "One morning I looked up from my cup of tea in a local coffee shop and was surprised to see a man at work on a little painting sitting at a table nearby. I walked over, took a peek, and was surprised again. It was really good. I complimented him on his work. He seemed to welcome the interruption, and I asked him a few questions. He was just passing through town and living from hand to mouth. Before long, having had nothing of the sort in mind, I found myself in a conversation that crossed into territory usually reserved for more intimate friends. All along I halfway expected to be hit up for a little cash, but nothing of the sort happened. The more we talked, the more I was touched by this total stranger and his story..." Read More >>
back to top Wednesday, April 28, 2010 In Pursuit of Silence: How noise really is killing us  For most Americans, silence is rare. Traffic and airplane noise fill major cities. Cellphone conversations have taken over parks, buzzing electronics have invaded homes and each store has its own carefully shaped "sonic environment." In his new book, "In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise," George Prochnik argues that noise poses a real threat to our cardiovascular system, mental health and our ability to concentrate. A lover of silence, Prochnik goes to competitions where car owners compete to create the loudest sounds, visits a shopping mall sound designer, and attends European "soundscaping" projects, where designers use technology to decrease noise pollution. He even explores how Hitler's vocal pitch and volume may have seduced his followers! Read More >>
back to top Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Doctor's Kindness Restores Sight  When William Noriega developed cataracts in both eyes at age 40- and was unable to afford a simple operation to fix them- he never expected an ophthalmologist to restore not only his sight for free but also his faith in humanity. Dr. Bryant Lum gifted his services to Noriega after reading a letter in the newspaper from his father: "My 40-year-old son...can no longer drive or work. He has lost the ability to support his family and pay for insurance. A simple operation would restore his sight and make him a taxpayer again instead of a welfare recipient." As someone who conducts hundreds of cataract surgeries each year, Lum decided one more wouldn't be a big deal to him, but "could change this patient's life." Read More >>
back to top Monday, April 26, 2010 A Poem Is  Nancy Weber shares: "As the director of a creative writing organization, I have heard a lot of amazing, wildly creative poems and stories written by young writers in our workshops. However, I was absolutely stunned by this beautiful poem by Sadie McCann, a five year=old girl from our workshop at the Brooklyn Public Library, Bay Ridge branch. If she hadn't written it right in front of me, I would not have believed that she really wrote it herself. I have the poem hanging above my computer, and I refer to it whenever I need to be reminded that writing a poem is indeed a pure act of love." Sadie's poem: Read More >>
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In one of the world's most challenging economies, two women are setting up laughter clubs to help people cope with the strains of daily life. Last year, a unity government halted the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy - which left the Zimbabwe dollar almost worthless - by allowing the use of foreign currency. How does one respond to such hardship? "You've got to laugh more," says one man at a recent workshop, "especially in our situation in Zimbabwe." Encouraging people to make funny faces and lie on the floor and kick their legs in the air, workshop leaders Shilpa Shah and Celina Stockhill teach the emotional, physical, and mental benefits of laughter. "We release stress by laughing, we activate our lymphatic system and it's a very strong cardio workout," Stockhill explains. "So it's peace to the world, laughter to Zimbabwe, so let's share the happiness and spread the happy-demic," Shah says with a smile. [ 
Ever feel happier when you enter a park or nature setting? Just five minutes of exercise in a 'green space' such as a park can boost mental health, researchers say. In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem. Study leader Jules Pretty of Essex University suggests, "Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health." Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, also points out that green exercise could can provide low-cost and drug-free therapy to improve mental well-being. "We would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate." [ 
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 travel. Simple acts, like offering to watch a stranger's bags while she buys her bus ticket, or brewing up a cuppa joe for the hostel reception staff, can add an extra spark to your day and the world around you. [ 
In an age of discount air travel, cheap long distance, and the internet, when we can create community anywhere, why is it that we often don't know the people who live next door? From porch parties in Columbus, Ohio, to community gardening projects in Albany, NY, people across the U.S. are finding creative ways to break down our physical and mental barriers of isolation. Dennis Maxwell of Oregon gives each new neighbor a homemade neighborhood map, complete with family names, children, pets, and telephone numbers. "Now we exchange child care, take care of mail and newspapers, and water plants during vacations," Maxwell says. In the U.S. today, more than 30 million people live alone. By not knowing our neighbors, we lose a crucial safety net for our material and psychological well-being. As a woman from Jackson, Mississippi wrote: "If we all cared about our neighbors, we could change the world one street at a time." [ 
When I worked in a busy office, most of my co-workers kept jars of candy on their desks to enjoy and share with others. Constantly battling the "bulge," I hated these temptations, but nevertheless often gave in to them. Finally, I decided to put out a jar of my own "feel good" stuff, with no calories. I bought a beautiful jar and spent one whole weekend at home cutting up colorful strips of paper and writing inspiring quotes on them. I filled the jar with quotes and placed it on my desk for people to help themselves to. It took a while to catch on, but soon, everyone was stopping by for my "food for thought" jar to fill up on something much better than empty calories! [ 
