How Does Your Personality Affect Your Happiness?
Research led by René Mõttus of Edinburgh University and the University of Tartu in Estonia explores how traits such as extroversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience can significantly influence one's overall sense of well-being.  However, no single personality trait guarantees happiness. Instead, it is the alignment of one’s actions, values, and environment with t... posted on Sep 20 2024, 915 reads

How to Embrace Your Political Enemy
A group of University of Pennsylvania students traveled throughout Pennsylvania to listen to people. They approached strangers in shops, on the street, and in many different venues. Their intention was not to change minds, take polls, or listen with an agenda, but to simply listen. One of their professors said: “People can tell when you are listening to them with curiosity, intellectual humi... posted on Sep 19 2024, 1,269 reads

15 Year-old's Letter to the Yard Across the Street
When her dad sent her a picture of pending home construction in what had been a vacant “yard” across the street from her home, a 15-year-old felt a sudden emptiness. She started remembering the coyotes, rabbits, deer, birds, a great pine tree, and amazing sunset orange poppies. She remembered playing with friends on a trampoline, and neighbors who lived next to the lot who brought gran... posted on Sep 18 2024, 2,083 reads

A Sparrow's Song To Lift Up the Sky
"The sparrow heard that the sky was falling, and while all the other creatures fled, she asked herself, 'What can I do? I'm just a sparrow.' But then, in a flash of brilliance, she lay on her back, pointing her tiny feet towards the sky. 'What are you doing, Little Sparrow?' the others asked. 'Well, I've heard the sky is falling, and so I'm doing my bit to hold it up.'," Nipun Mehta recounts a sto... posted on Sep 17 2024, 2,570 reads

Dr. Frederick Sontag: A Time of Searching
"Almost 60 years ago, professor Frederick Sontag opened a door I could not have opened on my own. Perhaps it saved my life. On a visit to Claremont, California 30 years later, I proposed interviewing him. He graciously accepted. Revisiting it today, I’m amazed at its relevance, particularly as the November election is almost upon those in the US. He says, 'America has gone through odysseys, ... posted on Sep 15 2024, 1,669 reads

Responsibility of Rocking the Boat
A 1976 industry article recommended: “Forget the pig is an animal—treat it just like a machine in a factory.” Gestation crates, so restrictive pigs could not even turn around, came to dominate. Laws for ethical treatment followed and companies declared commitments to humane treatment, but some did not keep their word. That led to the founding of The Accountability Board to hold c... posted on Sep 14 2024, 1,049 reads

An Awe Walk
A study on the effects of an “awe walk” revealed people found awe in the ordinary such as “a friend’s generosity, a leafy tree’s play of light and shadow on a sidewalk, a song that transported them back to a first love.” They found that even a few moments of awe can “reduce stress, decrease inflammation, and benefit the cardiovascular system.” They a... posted on Sep 11 2024, 2,590 reads

Finishing First: What It Really Means to Win
Scholars and an Olympian explore the importance of purpose and deeper meaning around the topics of performing and winning. “Research shows that having a strong sense of purpose not only helps guide and direct our lives in important ways but adds meaning and fosters resilience.” Scholar Michael Lamb “worries that a culture obsessed with winning—whether in sports, education, ... posted on Sep 09 2024, 957 reads

What Makes Someone Wise? A Global Study Explores.
Unlike previous research that focused mainly on Europe and the United States, a recent study spanned across five continents and eleven countries to analyze perceptions of wisdom. Two dimensions emerged across all cultural regions: “reflective orientation (i.e. thinking logically, emotional control, thinking in many ways, etc.) and socio-emotional awareness (i.e. sense of humor, awareness of ... posted on Sep 05 2024, 1,344 reads

The Londoners Walking Their Way to Better Mental Health
Therapists are creating walking groups to “support people outside of the therapy room, getting us outdoors, off our phones and connecting with new people.” They create intentionality by asking people to: metaphorically leave something behind; have an open mind; be mindful of their surroundings; individually choose a concern on which to focus; and the therapist walks along to help nurtu... posted on Sep 04 2024, 1,010 reads