Unexpected Joy on the Copenhagen Metro
In the quiet of the Copenhagen Metro, the clear, sweet notes of a flute panned across the train. As commuters looked on with smiles, the members of the Copenhagen Phil joined into a rendition of Morning Mood from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, Op. 23. As listeners drank in the beauty of the melody, perhaps they were aware that at least for this particular commute, they were bonded with the strangers on... posted on Dec 29 2015, 5,050 reads

Does Trying To Be Happy Make Us Unhappy?
"As we muddle through our days, the quest for happiness looms large. In the U.S., citizens are granted three inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the kingdom of Bhutan, there's a national index to measure happiness. But what if searching for happiness actually prevents us from finding it?" Read on to learn more from Adam Grant about why we might need to change our fo... posted on Dec 28 2015, 20,482 reads

Sparking Curiosity by Embracing Uncertainty
Teachers often present subjects to children as settled and complete, as if no further questioning is needed because all the answers have been found. Students may think they've learned all the facts and lose their sense of curiosity. In "Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing," Jamie Holmes invites them to spark their curiosity to better prepare them for the "real world," where answers are seldom clea... posted on Dec 27 2015, 5,986 reads

How to Move Beyond Pain
We will all feel pain in one form or another many times throughout our lifetimes, whether it be the heartbreak of lost love, or perhaps some sort of perceived humiliation at the workplace. And while the pain may be real and lasting, there are fundamental actions we can each take to help bring about healing. The following article offers three crucial steps that can help facilitate someone to "move ... posted on Dec 26 2015, 17,703 reads

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, 11,893 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, 13,712 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, 9,040 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, 15,467 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, 14,991 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, 24,582 reads