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Kind words are a creative force, a power that concurs in the building up of all that is good, and energy that
showers blessings upon the world. --Lawrence G. Lovasik
Good News of the Day:
While many would agree that "counting your blessings"
is a worthwhile practice, there hasn't been much experimental research on whether gratitude really has a positive impact on
our lives. Several studies have found that gratitude correlates with positive emotions such as happiness, pride, and hope,
but experimental work -- showing that gratitude causes these things -- is scarcer. Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough figured
it would be worthwhile to explore this notion. Their method of study was both ingenious and simple: they would ask 201 students
in a health psychology class to respond to a weekly questionnaire. Everyone rated their well-being, was tested on a measure
of gratefulness, and reported on their physical health and level of exercise. [ more ]
Be The Change:
In an interview with Sacred Journey magazine, senior Benedictine
Monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, considered an authority on gratefulness, shares his deep experience on practicing gratitude. [ more ]
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A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The
greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves. --Lawrence G. Lovasik
Inspiration of the Day:
Drew Friend's 5th birthday party had been in
full swing for less than half an hour -- and toys, board games, clothes, and stuffed animals were stacked on the dining room
table. The pile kept getting bigger as guests poured into his home with armfuls of birthday gifts. But Drew didn't pay much
attention to the pile. And a few hours later, he gave all the presents away. He had made an unusual decision -- one that displayed
a selflessness beyond his years. Drew had decided to give his presents away to those fortunate than him. When asked why he
would do something like that, the boy looked up from playing with his plastic dinosaurs. "Because it would make a good feeling
in my heart," he said. [ more ]
Be The Change:
The next time you receive a gift, look for an opportunity
to share it with others.
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Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems. --Bill Watterson
Fact of the Day:
Aha! Eureka! Bingo! "By George, I think she's got it!" Everyone knows
what it's like to finally figure out a seemingly impossible problem. But what on Earth is happening in the brain while we're
driving toward mental pay dirt? Researchers eager to find out have long been on the hunt, knowing that such information could
one day provide priceless clues in uncovering and fixing faulty neural systems believed to be behind some mental illnesses
and learning disabilities. Researchers at Goldsmiths, University of London report that they monitored action in the brains
of 21 volunteers as they tackled verbal problems in an attempt to uncover what goes through the mind --literally -- in order
to observe what happens in the brain during an "aha!" moment of problem solving. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Do you have your own helpful ways of letting your mind "play"? Whether
its crossword puzzles, or long walks, share your answers here. [ more ]
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Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a mater of opportunity. --Hippocrates
Good News of the Day:
After 22 years in private practice, Dr. Lorna Stuart
found herself frustrated with the number of insurance companies and the rules and restrictions that came with them. "The day-to-day
time that I spent on paperwork was increasing, while my patients weren't getting the good care that I wanted to give them
-- face-to-face time, one-on-one time," she recalls. "I vowed to do whatever little I could about this inequity of care."
For Stuart, that vow came in the form of opening her own clinic and treating the uninsured. Her efforts resulted in "The Clinic:
Medical Center for the Uninsured," a charitable, sun-filled clinic that has since received more than 40,000 patient visits.
Individuals receive free or low-cost primary medical care across eight specialties, regardless of income or locality. [ more ]
Submitted by: Sima Shah
Be The Change:
Watch Stuart explain how her dream came true here. [ more ]
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Either you're part of the problem or you're part of the solution or you're just part of the landscape. --J.D. Zeik
Inspiration of the Day:
Iron banisters flank the front steps of Jack's little blue
house. Two summers ago, they were covered with vines. To get the mail to the front door, mailman Eric Wills had to fight through
a jungle. Wills didn't know much about Jack, except that he was old and seldom got out. For weeks, the mailman struggled through
the thicket, frustrated with the man's unkempt grounds. One day, he heard a voice inside himself saying, "Someone should mow
that yard!" And an answering voice from within that said simply, "Me." For the last two years now, 30-year-old mailman Wills
has spent his days off in an unusual way -- he mows older people's yards for free. And along the way he has touched the heart
of the community he serves in incredible ways. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Do you see something outside of your realm of responsibility that calls
out to be taken care of or fixed? Do it this week.
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The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves. --Joseph Campbell
Inspiration of the Day:
After the sudden deaths of her husband and 26-year-old daughter,
Viola Vaughn was left with five grand-children to care for in Africa. Amid her grief, she found comfort in home-schooling
them and her success won local attention. Within two weeks, Vaughn had 20 girls in her house who were failing school and asking
her to teach them. In 2001, Vaughn turned her grandchildren's bedrooms into classrooms and began supplementing the girls'
education, her methods included teaching them how to teach each other -- and it worked. To keep their "10,000 Girls" education
program going, the girls began selling cookies and juice and were able to buy books and supplies. Soon after, they got their
older sisters, aunts and cousins involved in baking and selling goods. The entrepreneurial element of the program was born. [ more ]
Submitted by: Hafeez Jaffer
Be The Change:
Find out more about the 10,000 Girls program here. [ more ]
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We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. --George Bernard Shaw
Tip of the Day:
Over the last two decades, more than 30,000 schools in the United
States have eliminated recess to make more time for academics. From 1997 to 2003, children's time spent outdoors fell 50 percent,
according to a study by Sandra Hofferth. Hofferth also found that the amount of time children spend in organized sports has
doubled, and the number of minutes children devote each week to passive leisure, not including watching television, has increased
from 30 minutes to more than three hours. On the flip side, decades of research has shown that play is crucial to physical,
intellectual, and social-emotional development at all ages. This is especially true of the purest form of play: the self-motivated,
imaginative, independent kind, where we create our own games. Tufts University psychologist David Elkind explores how we can
build a new culture of play. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Regardless of your age, engage in a self-motivated, imaginative, independent
play activity today.
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I touch the future. I teach. --Christa McAuliffe
Inspiration of the Day:
Ron Clark used to be an elementary school teacher in North
Carolina -- but after watching a program about a New York City school that had a hard time attracting qualified teachers,
he decided to head to New York with the goal of teaching in one of its toughest schools. Clark eventually landed a job doing
just that -- in Harlem. He asked if he could teach a class of fifth-graders who had been performing at a second-grade level.
The school's administrators wanted to give him the gifted class, but Clark insisted on the underperforming students. In one
school year, Clark's fifth-grade class outperformed the gifted class. Clark became Disney's teacher of the year, a best-selling
author, and an Oprah guest. This Business Week article shares Clark's thoughts on how managers can use his techniques to motivate
their own teams. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Make use of one of Clark's tips in your own work with other people
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First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. --Epictetus
Fact of the Day:
In a recent TED talk, Ben Dunlap beautifully tells the story of Sandor
Teszler, a Hungarian man he met at Wofford College. In telling Teszler's dramatic life story, which arcs from the Holocaust
to the American Deep South of the 1950s, Dunlap shares some deep and, ultimately, moving lessons about justice -- and the
power of lifelong learning. Ben Dunlap is a true polymath, whose talents span poetry, opera, ballet, literature and administration
and is currently the president of South Carolina’s Wofford College. This moving, 20-minute video masterfully presents
the story of a passionate life. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Make an effort this week to learn more about one person around you
-- a parent, grandparent, neighbor, mailman, grocer -- anyone! You never know when you will hear a truly moving life story.
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