What Generous People's Brains Do Differently
Some people make giving look effortless. They're the kind of people who bring donuts on Friday mornings and don't think twice before helping overwhelmed colleagues. Others face more of a struggle when it comes to putting the group first. So how do the givers do it? New research from the emerging field of neuroeconomics suggests that being generous is not as tough as some people think. ... posted on Dec 25 2015, 11,882 reads

5 Ways to Show Kindness this Holiday Season
"With the holiday season upon us, it's easy to feel pressure that you aren't spending enough, doing enough or otherwise keeping up with everyone else around you. If that's the case, log out of Pinterest, take some deep breaths and remind yourself that true holiday spirit can't be bought -- no matter how good the bargains get." This lovely piece offers up 5 immediate ways to be kind in this season ... posted on Dec 24 2015, 13,623 reads

What Women Can Teach Us About Compassion
It is said "[t]he road itself has power ... that suffering itself can have an inner door ... that there is a resilience even in the midst of it." In this conversation with Gitanjali Babbar, we get glimpses of the power of resilience -- both Babbar's, as well as the thousands of women and children whose lives she touches, and that touch hers. Babbar started a nonprofit named "Kat Katha" or "Puppe... posted on Dec 23 2015, 8,964 reads

A Yuletide Gift of Kindness
"The year was 1933 and Christmas was just a week away. Deep in the trough of the Great Depression, the people of Canton, Ohio, were down on their luck and hungry. Nearly half the town was out of work. Along the railroad tracks, children in patched coats scavenged for coal spilled from passing trains. The prison and orphanage swelled with the casualties of hard times. It was then that a mysterious ... posted on Dec 22 2015, 15,447 reads

The 'Magic Strings' of Mitch Albom
"Ever since I wrote Tuesdays with Morrie, I've had people who have said to me, 'That book changed my life.' You actually said it to me not too long ago. I have to say, the first hundred times that that happened, I probably internally rolled my eyes and said, 'Well, that's nice, but a book doesn't change your life. It's a book.' Having heard it so many times at this point, I started to think, well,... posted on Dec 21 2015, 14,918 reads

The Dogs that Protect Little Penguins
When foxes discovered little penguins on a small Australian island, they nearly wiped the colony out. But a farmer came up with a novel way to protect the birds -- and the story has been made into a hit film.... posted on Dec 20 2015, 24,562 reads

Attention is the Secret to Virtue
How many times do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over, barely changing your behavior despite realizing that an alternative way of doing something would be more beneficial to your life? Don't worry, you are not alone. And fortunately for everyone, recent studies have shown that if you just "focus" more "attention" to what you are doing, that change is well within your reach. ... posted on Dec 19 2015, 11,081 reads

The Story of the Chinese Farmer
In "The Story of the Chinese Farmer," philosopher Alan Watts looks at the idea of what we consider good or bad fortune with the parable of a Chinese farmer, who refuses to see anything as positive or negative. This beautifully animated video will make you question whether one can truly know if something is good or bad when you can never know the consequences.... posted on Dec 18 2015, 7,559 reads

A New Home For Brothers Reunited Against the Odds
This is the time of year families reunite to celebrate the holidays. Many people travel a long way to be with their loved ones. For some, the distance is so great it's measured not in miles -- but in years. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports on a reunion a decade in the making. The moving story of three children thrust unexpectedly into foster care, the brother who dreamt of bringing the... posted on Dec 17 2015, 4,558 reads

On Seeing
In this simple and poignant reflection, photographer Paul Van Slambrouck shares a moment of quiet revelation that illuminated for him the beauty of truly seeing the majestic world we live in.... posted on Dec 16 2015, 10,656 reads