Sunday, May 30, 2010 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 act of kindness - It could be anything..." Read More >>
back to top  Saturday, May 29, 2010 A Piece of Cowboy Wisdom  "I had come to Elko for their annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. A first-timer, I was neither a cowboy nor a student of cowboy poetry, but I'd been enjoying the performances and the friendly atmosphere among the ranchers, cowboys and the friends of cowboy culture. It was the second day of the festival and I'd taken a break to visit Capriola's, a place famous for its western gear. Just outside the store I couldn't help but notice a striking figure, the first and only black cowboy I'd seen so far. I had no idea I was looking at Jim Brooks, a cowboy legend. It didn't take long to decide I had to make this stranger's acquaintance. I was in for some real surprises." And so begins Richard Whittaker's encounter with Jim Brooks, who explores the windy roads and lessons from his off-beaten path. Read More >>
back to top Friday, May 28, 2010 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 day. After her mother's seemingly senseless death, Lieu said, "I was determined to have a purpose." Since then, the Oakland, CA resident has earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard, supported sustainable farming methods in Vietnam, worked with an AIDS project in an African refugee camp, and started a successful chocolate business. All in the span of a quarter-century! Read More >>
back to top Thursday, May 27, 2010 Clean Hands, Clear Mind  How many times have you heard the expression - maybe you've used it yourself: I'm going to wash my hands of something. Could there be more to the metaphor than meets the eye? Could washing your hands have some tangible effect on your thoughts? A study out recently in the journal Science suggests that the answer is yes, that hand washing can actually change your thinking. The author of the study, Mr. Lee, suggest that the concrete act of washing might provide a basis for the more complex, abstract concepts of morality and purity. Read More >>
back to top Wednesday, May 26, 2010 A Trash-Free Year  "Any time I throw something away, I think of you." It sounds like an insult, but to Amy and Adam Korst, it's a typical compliment. Since July 2009, the young couple have been on a quest to answer the question: "Is it possible for a couple to live an entire year without placing trash in a landfill, in a country that produces more waste each year than any other country in the world?" According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces 4.6 pounds of garbage every day. By this July, the Korsts will have kept one ton of garbage out of the landfill. And they still enjoy comfortable 21st century lifestyles: buying groceries, enjoying restaurants, and working as a teacher and photojournalist. "It's a typical misconception that in order to be an environmentalist, you have to give up everything you love," Amy explains. "I want people to feel like they can do something for the environment and not lose their creature comforts, and live a completely normal life." Read More >>
back to top Tuesday, May 25, 2010 What Makes Us Come Alive?  People don't just do things for money. At least that's what Daniel Pink says. "We do things because they're interesting, because they're engaging, because they're the right things to do, because they contribute to the world," Pink elaborates. In a world that operates on punishments and rewards, writers Clay Shirky and Daniel Pink are paving a new path. Both grew up in Midwest university towns in the 1970s, where they spent formative years watching television after school and at night. Both later went to Yale (a BA in painting for Shirky, a law degree for Pink). And both eventually abandoned their chosen fields, and are published authors and innovative thinkers on topics of technology, business, and society. Wired Magazine sat the two visionaries down for a conversation about motivation, television, and why people edit wiki articles in their free time. Read More >>
back to top Monday, May 24, 2010 What Adults Can Learn from Kids  "I loved to write from the age of four, and when I was six my mom bought me my own laptop...I wrote over 300 short stories on that little laptop, and I wanted to get published. Instead of just scoffing at this heresy that a kid wanted to get published, or saying 'wait until you're older,' my parents were really supportive." Since publishing her first book at the age of 7, Adora Svitak, now 12, has spoken for hundreds of schools and educators. She calls for "childish" thinking to embrace bright and creative ideas that would otherwise be considered impractical by most adults. Read More >>
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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 century - researchers are now exploring an entirely new developmental stage for people ages 55-75, and they are challenging the notion that these years are marked by mental and emotional decline. In fact, surveys show that many Americans approaching retirement want to continue working past traditional retirement age and have a strong desire to remain productive and set new goals. Many plan to continue either full time or part time work into their 70s, and a substantial number work into their 80s! [ 
In 1952, while on leave from the Navy in Norfolk, VA, George Wanish stopped for gas only to discover that he had lost his wallet. About a day later, he received a phone call from a person in Ohio, stating that his son had found my wallet while walking to school. He returned the wallet by mail, with all identification cards and all of the $80 that it contained, completely intact. In gratitude, George sent him a thank you card. This October, after 57 years, David Immler of Norton, Ohio, now a 73-year-old retired businessman, found that thank you card and contacted George. [ 
What's the secret to a successful, long-lasting relationship? After the initial 'Honeymoon Phase,' why is it that we might find ourselves increasingly impatient, resentful, jealous, or annoyed by our once blissful relationship? Upon ending her 17-year marriage, New York Times Well Blog columnist Tara Parker-Pope seeks out the answers in her book, "For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage". Subtle things - like planning together, learning to "fight productively," celebrating the small stuff, or being aware of body language - can make all the difference. Whether you think of your significant other as your soul mate, partner, husband, or wife, Parker-Pope offers insights to help you strengthen your most profound relationship in life. [ 
Not long ago, Paul Bloom watched a 1-year-old boy take justice into his own hands. On a quest to discover the nature of morality, Bloom and his fellow researchers are exploring the moral lives of babies for the answer. While it may seem like babies are helpless, ignorant, and undisciplined, recent studies at Yale University's Infant Cognition Center indicates that, even in the first year of life, some sense of good and bad is bred in the bone. In a study in which children watch a puppet steal a ball from two others, Bloom watched the 1-year-old boy punish the wrong-doing puppet. "Babies possess certain moral foundations - the capacity and willingness to judge the actions of others, some sense of justice, gut responses to altruism and nastiness. Regardless of how smart we are, if we didn't start with this basic apparatus, we would be nothing more than amoral agents," Bloom concludes. [ 
I don't suppose you've watched 'Forest Gump,' Ron Struzynski chuckles as he watches 30-year-old Matt Green set up a tent for the evening. Green, previously an New York City civil engineer, finds himself in Wisconsin tonight, after embarking on a 6-month walk across the U.S. in late March. In these uncertain times, most of us cling to the things that make us feel secure. Those who have jobs give thanks. We hug our children a little tighter. We wait - and hope - for better times. So when someone like Matt Green comes along, we shake our heads a little and wonder. Who is this young man, bearded and weather-worn, pushing a cart down a country road, mile after mile? And why would he abandon a solid career to walk all the way across the United States? "Good question," Green agrees, and he goes on to note, "Playing it safe isn't really that safe. If you do that, you miss out on a lot of the great things life has to offer." [ 
The idea that money does not buy happiness has been around for centuries, but now scientists have shown for the first time that even the thought of money reduces satisfaction in the simple pleasures of life. In two experiments, conducted by scientists at the University of Liege in Belgium, the subject's "savoring" ability -- the feeling of positive emotions such as contentment, gratitude, joy, awe or excitement during an experience -- was measured and shown to be lower when the thought of money was introduced vs. the control, without a money primer. [ 
