Mr. Happy Man
For six hours each day, Bermuda's Johnny Barnes stands at a busy traffic intersection telling all who pass that he loves them. His delight and sincerity are infectious, and the people of the island love him back. His service is a simple reminder of the power of happiness and loving-kindness to change any day for the better.... posted on Apr 19 2012, 5,056 reads

Six Ways To Empower Others
What makes a good leader? According to this article from YES! Magazine it's the gift of strengthening others. Also, "an empowering leader makes mistakes. If she doesn't, she's probably not experimenting enough. An empowering leader is also a good learner, an experienced and willing apologizer, someone who can make amends and move on." Starhawk, the author of "The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Co... posted on Apr 18 2012, 55,877 reads

Henry, an iPod and Music's Alchemy
His name is Henry, and he lives in a nursing home. For years he slouched deep in his wheelchair, utterly unresponsive to caretakers and visiting family. Until one day he was given an iPod -- preloaded with popular tunes from his youth. What followed was a dramatic, exuberant transformation that has to be seen to be believed. "Alive Inside", a new documentary brings to viewers a study of the alchem... posted on Apr 17 2012, 22,454 reads

Are You Fixing, Helping or Serving?
Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen author of the best-selling Kitchen Table Wisdom is a beloved storyteller and a profound voice in the field of health and healing. In the following article she teases out crucial differences between the various modes in which we humans tend to reach out to the world: by fixing, helping or serving. Interwoven in the piece are two unforgettable stories of service; the first abo... posted on Apr 16 2012, 98,799 reads

Journey to the End of the Earth
"I realized quickly, after just having traveled to various villages in rural India, that distance is relative. Hailing from a city like San Francisco, going even a few hours outside of town is far - but twelve hours outside of a major city? I half expected to run into another country. The remote place in mention is Achham, a tiny hillside region in far west Nepal. Sitting like a giant amongst its ... posted on Apr 15 2012, 10,808 reads

10 Keys To Happier Living
Based on the latest scientific research on happiness a group based out of the United Kingdom has identified ten "keys" that tend to have a consistently positive impact on people's overall happiness and well-being. The first five keys relate to how people interact with the world outside, while the latter half are concerned more with the inner life. This piece shares the ten keys (that together form... posted on Apr 14 2012, 91,622 reads

Caine's Cardboard Arcade
Caine Monroy spent his summer vacation building an elaborate cardboard arcade in his dad's used auto parts store. The adorable 9-year old worked for months to perfect the game designs, making displays for the prizes, and creating elaborate security systems. Unfortunately, his dad's store is in an industrial part of East L.A. that gets almost no foot traffic. So Caine had exactly zero customers ..... posted on Apr 13 2012, 5,096 reads

The Memory Project: Portraits of Compassion
At the base of a volcano in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, there's an orphanage. Although developing world orphanages aren't normally festive places, on this day, at this time, there was reason to celebrate: the arrival of a young man named Ben Schumaker. Schumaker comes from faraway Wisconsin, and he comes bearing gifts. He carries a suitcase with 62 pounds of portraits -- portraits of the kids, a... posted on Apr 12 2012, 4,584 reads

The Pursuit of Silence in A World of Noise
Writer George Prochnik says he's had a passion for silence as long as he can remember. "I can't sit in my house without hearing air conditioners. I worry about this layer of noise that's placed on top of infrastructure noise." In his new book, In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise, Prochnik leaves the noisy confines of New York City and goes on a global quest to find tho... posted on Apr 11 2012, 6,336 reads

How To Think Like An Ecosystem
"A new way of seeing that is opening up to us can form a more life-serving mental map. I call it "eco-mind"-- looking at the world through the lens of ecology. This worldview recognizes that we, no less than any other organism, live in relation to everything else. As the visionary German physicist Hans-Peter Durr puts it, "There are no parts, only participants." This fascinating article from Yes M... posted on Apr 10 2012, 28,065 reads