Mother Robin: Delivering Hope & Babies
They've waited all night for a chance to see their newborn babies, whom the hospital is holding until the medical bills are paid in full. "Holding babies until payment is common in Indonesia," said Robin Lim, a midwife who founded birthing clinics in Aceh and the island of Bali. At this particular hospital in Bali, mothers who don't pay are allowed in twice a day to feed their baby and change thei... posted on Jan 06 2012, 6,749 reads

Be Healthy, Be Compassionate
The Dalai Lama has been telling us for years that it would make us happy, but he never said it would make us healthy, too. Maybe the Dalai Lama knew all along or maybe he's just finding out like the rest of us, but science is starting to catch up with a couple millennia of spiritual thought. In recent years, the investigation of compassion has moved beyond theology and philosophy to embrace a wide... posted on Jan 05 2012, 7,687 reads

Ben Davis Keeps His Promise To Meemaw
One van. One father. One son. Thirty-one cities. 30,724 pounds lost among 1,516 participants. 1,255,740 views on YouTube. When Ben Davis makes a promise to his Meemaw, he means business. It was Christmas Eve of 2008 when Ben's grandmother expressed her concern for him simply by asking whether he was happy. "I was 360 pounds," Ben told me. "I was in a deep depression, I had lost a relationship as a... posted on Jan 04 2012, 11,912 reads

A Eulogy For My Mother
"For the first 58 years of my life, I would have to say that my relationship to my mother was a complex and difficult one. She was a huge personality, full of great passions, creativity, rages, and generosity. I remember saying to friends that I loved my mother in small doses, but that she didn't come in small doses. She was a force of nature." Celebrated filmmaker Mickey Lemle has shared the stor... posted on Jan 03 2012, 0 reads

The Sniper and the Trumpet Song
Two weeks after D-Day, Col. Jack Leroy Tueller's made a decision to play his trumpet. The last remaining German sniper threatening his unit was so moved that he couldn't shoot, and surrendered the next morning. By choosing to play "his love song" Jack had sensed the fear and loneliness in that sniper, and had recognized that he too had that within himself. Now 90 years old, in this two minute vide... posted on Jan 02 2012, 4,474 reads

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2011
What we appreciate, appreciates. That's the way activist Lynne Twist explains a universal phenomenon: that the more we concentrate on something, the more we understand and learn, the more it expands our own boundaries. It also applies to the stories we surround ourselves with. In theory, stories of kindness are happening all the time, but the more we orient ourselves to them, the more we find all ... posted on Jan 01 2012, 7,059 reads

A New Kind of New Year's Resolution
The upcoming new year serves as a reminder of hope, possibilities, and new beginnings. As we prepare to step into 2012, here's a new tool to help turn our annual motivation outward, resolving to brighten the lives of others: Resolution12.org. Its organizer, a chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania named Rev. Chaz Howard, calls it "a public campaign to challenge people to make outwardly-focused... posted on Dec 31 2011, 11,752 reads

How Good Found Me In A Bad Neighborhood
"It occurred to me a little too late that I was in a sketchy part of town. In anticipation of making it to my massage appointment, I had actually gotten off my bus five blocks before my stop. I was young and clearly a college student...I stuck out like a sore thumb in the southern town. Yet, even with my fingers trembling I was convinced that I would be perfectly safe, that I didn't have to rely o... posted on Dec 30 2011, 12,380 reads

Ways To Go Green In 2012
As we head into 2012, many of us will be resolving to lose those few extra pounds, save more money, or spend a few more hours with our families and friends. But there are also some resolutions we can make to make our lives a little greener. Each of us can make a commitment to reducing our environmental impacts. This article offers a set of simple starting points -- ranging from recycling and plant... posted on Dec 29 2011, 14,150 reads

Illiterate Fisherman at 90, Literary Star at 98!
He may not have learned to read and write until he was 91, but Jim Henry is becoming a literary star. The retired lobsterman now 98-years-old released his book, "In a Fisherman's Language" last month. And ever since he and his family have found themselves immersed in a world of book printings, agents, publicity and film rights. People from not just around the country but the world are clamoring f... posted on Dec 28 2011, 7,615 reads