EVEN WHEN IT CAN BE FOUND AND DEFINED IN THE DICTIONARY
doesn’t mean that it can ever be fully
u n d e r s t o o d
MAMNOON
may be one of those words
|
Who Cares - What Matters
EVEN WHEN IT CAN BE FOUND AND DEFINED IN THE DICTIONARY
doesn’t mean that it can ever be fully
u n d e r s t o o d
MAMNOON
may be one of those words
|
It’s hard to believe that the song
by Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead
is over 50 years old
and yet still causes
A RIPPLE
harder still to believe all of the
RIPPLES
that still lie within you to
C A U S E
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. . .
WAIT NO LONGER
EPIC
HISTORICAL
UNBELIEVEABLE
The adjectives could go on and on
and still not be able to sum up
exactly what happened last Saturday at the Kentucky Derby
The post has been going around and around on all
Social Media outlets:
I believe that God sent ‘this’ horse to run ‘this’ race to encourage us all to never give up…even if you think you can’t do it, even if people say you can’t do it and don’t believe in you! Never freaking give up! 😊🦄🙏
Wow, what an incredible race!!
Wow, what an incredible ride!!!
🏆 Rich Strike wins $1.86Million.
🏆 Entered the race yesterday 30 seconds before the deadline.
🏆 Only got in the race because the 20th horse had to scratch yesterday.
🏆 Started from the worst post position on the outside of the track.
🏆 Had to make his way through the field of 19 other horses from the back.
🏆 His race career; 7 starts, one win.
🏆 His jockey, Sonny Leon, had never been to the Kentucky Derby.
🏆 His trainer, Eric Reed, has never raced a horse in the Kentucky Derby.
🏆 Eric Reed tragically lost nearly two dozen race horses in a barn fire a few years ago and struggled with quitting.
🏆 Eric Reed lost his two assistant trainers last year to cancer.
🏆 Rich Strike was purchased in a claiming race last fall for only $30,000.
🏆 80-1 odds.
This horse had no idea he was a long shot. He had no idea that he was entered last minute, because another horse scratched. He had no idea that his trainer and jockey had never won the Kentucky Derby. So he ran…and WON! He even had enough left after a mile and a quarter to give hell to the pony horse! Congratulations to Rich Strike and all of his connections 🔥🦄🔥
Rich Strike wins the 148th Kentucky Derby!!
What an incredible success story!!!
Never give up on your dreams!!!
THE NUMBER ONE REASON WE FAIL:
OURSELVES. . .
YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE RACE
R U N
I T
W A L K
I T
D O
I T
You just never know what might happen. . .
EVEN THE UN-HAPPENABLE
W H Y
just see the
WE in US
when it’s way past time for us to start consistently
B E I N G
The WE in US
JILL SUTTIE a freelance journalist for Greater Good Science Center pulls back the curtain to help us take a look at the good WE can do by being more about an US than a YOU or a mere ME. . .
As human beings, we tend to favor people we think are like us or have something in common with us—and we’re often wary of people who are different.
Evolution made us this way so that we could find allies against outside threats. The problem comes when this old instinct to prefer our “in-group” leads us to discriminate, dehumanize, or act violently toward others we perceive as “the other” or members of the “out-group.”
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much for us to create or expand in-groups. Studies have shown that even minimal similarities—like wearing the same-colored shirt—can prime us to prefer members of our in-group in relation to out-group members.
What allows us to get past that tendency to be so easily biased for and against people? A new study suggests one step: focus on the need to cooperate.
In this study, researchers Antonia Misch of Ludwig Maximilian University and Yarrow Dunham of Yale University formed artificial in-groups and out-groups in American and German children by randomly assigning them to wear an orange- or green-colored scarf. Then, they asked the children to look at sets of photos featuring two children (each with a different scarf color) and to rate their likability and niceness. The difference in likability scores between members of the child’s in-group and out-group provided a measure of favoritism.
The children were then told they’d be playing a cooperative game with their group members via computer. But, while half of the children (in the control group) connected to their own group without problems, the other half experienced a bad connection—and were told they’d instead be playing with the group wearing the other color scarf.
Before any actual play took place, however, the researchers measured in-group favoritism again, using the same method. When they compared the results, they found that children who’d been told they’d be playing with the out-group showed reduced favoritism toward their own group and less bias against the other group than children in the control group.
“Just looking at the anticipation of cooperation triggers more positivity towards an out-group,” says Misch. “This could be a first, important step in helping people engage in more positive interactions.”
In another part of the study, Misch and Dunham repeated their experiment, but with a difference: They had the kids actually play the cooperative game together (or think they were playing together; in reality, they were playing alone). The researchers found that playing the game with others didn’t further reduce in-group favoritism, suggesting that anticipating cooperation may be as effective as actual cooperation in reducing bias.
This is important, says Misch, because while past research has found that cooperation between groups reduces prejudice and bias, her study is the first to show that simply anticipating cooperation can make a difference.
It’s striking to see this bias reduction happening in children rather than in adults, she adds. Perhaps if more teachers and parents kept this in mind, she says, they could help prevent prejudice from developing, by fostering more cooperation between diverse groups of children.
“Human group-mindedness is a characteristic that emerges early in life,” she says. “If we want to change intergroup relations and prejudice, we should start early.”
However, telling children that they should anticipate cooperating with others may not be enough to reduce deep-seated bias in all cases.
In one part of Misch’s study, children were separated into groups based on gender instead of using randomly colored scarves. Those who were told they’d be playing with kids in the opposite gender group didn’t show the same reductions in bias as children in prior experiments: They still preferred members of their own gender group.
To Misch, this is not too surprising, as gender bias is more firmly established than the kind of bias you see in groups like those created by scarf color. Stereotyped messages about boys and girls are passed down from parents, reinforced through culture, and perpetuated in media. Plus, gender is an important part of a child’s self-concept, which may cement it more firmly in their minds, she says.
Still, it’s possible that if differently-gendered children were encouraged to cooperate more from an early age, it could make a difference in reducing gender bias over time.
“Anticipating cooperation between some groups may help a little bit, even if it’s not going to be the only thing that’s needed,” she says.
Currently, Misch and her team are expanding their research to see if they can decrease bias based on race and ethnicity through anticipatory cooperation. She’s hopeful that having children—and adults—think about the necessity of working together across difference may lessen prejudice, not only helping us all get along better, but helping us to solve world problems that require a sense of commonality and shared purpose.
“If we can replicate the effect with this study, it would be great,” she says. “Maybe it will just take a change of attitude around cooperation to reduce prejudice some and help society.”
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
SO What, huh?
Maybe if these past couple of years has taught us nothing else
isn’t it that
THE WE IN US
brings us the
Best in us
or
does it. . .
Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
No answer necessary
. . .the way you live
TELLS ALL
(we just don’t always act like it)
I have shared this video several times for various presentations I have given
I have shared this video on a Monday morning blog post before, too
I have to have its message KNOWN to me again and to be reminded just how much I need to HEAR WHAT ANOTHER HEAR’S. . .
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each others’ eyes for an instant?” – Henry David Thoreau
Every day, every moment, is an opportunity to let go of what no longer serves us and let it die…
And to embrace what brings out the best in ourselves and others.
This video, “If We Could See Inside Each Others’ Hearts” is an opportunity to do that.
It is a profound look at life, in 4 minutes. This one will have you welling up with tears as the camera wanders and shows the inner lives of people around us as they do their daily tasks. Most of it is set in a hospital, where there is so much worry, sadness, some joy, bad news, good news, no news, anxiety, fear — just like our own lives. . .
Magnified
We’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced at least one of these people’s lives, and that’s what brings the message of this video so close to home.
We ALL have our stories. Others have theirs. But we never really know, we don’t fully connect, because most of us walk around keeping most of our thoughts and feelings to ourselves.
S T I L L
If we could see inside other peoples’ hearts, this is what we’d see. . .
Psssssssssssssssssssssst:
Look Again
(c l o s e r)
IT ALL BECOMES A BLUR SOMETIMES
. . .doesn’t it?
WE ARE RUNAWAY SENTENCES
not so much looking for an unimaginable
P E R I O D
so much as just a mere
SEMI-COLON
COMMA
that’ll give us just momentary pause and relieve us from
HURRY SICKNESS
with not even a second to spare
a deep breath to take or reset
Y E S
there’s a antidote for HURRY SICKNESS
that’s never waiting to be invented
only
I M P L E M E N T E D
Many of us suffer from “hurry sickness,” the feeling that we’re perpetually behind. And NO, we don’t need to have the holidays to intensify our anxiety. We’d like to pause, take a moment for ourselves, but who has the time, might be the wrong question to ask. . .WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE TIME?
We might not recognize our habit because we believe we’re simply being efficient, multi-tasking. But here are some signs that we might need to slow down:
- We often speed, whether through traffic, conversations, or meals.
- We often rush through work tasks and household chores, to the point we sometimes have to redo them.
- We often perform time calculations to see whether we can fit in another task.
- We’re irritable when we encounter delays, hyperaware that we’re “wasting time.”
- We constantly try to find ways to “save time.”
- We have trouble focusing on one thing because we’re always running through our to-do lists.
- We have trouble investing time in truly listening to others.
We experience physical problems related to stress.
THE CURE FOR HURRY SICKNESS. . . ?
Well, why not just start today (OR HOW ABOUT NOW) by allowing ourselves a 15-minute nap, relaxing walk, or enjoyment of a book? JUST fifteen minutes of doing nothing we have to do.
(My thanks to Crystal Rapole)
Go ahead. .
P A U S E
EVERY SEED
needs a little time to
B L O O M. . .
Throughout history, people have stood on two sides of a fence…
Either they have felt alone and powerless to change their future. They’ve felt that one person just can’t make a difference in the world.
They’ve asked the question, “What can I do?” and answered it with “Nothing. I’m just one.”
Then there’s the people who have believed in the “Power of One…”
People like Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and more.
These people have realized that one single person with a vision, purpose, and commitment can in fact start a movement and change the world.
These people asked the question, “What can I do?” and they answered it with actions, words, and the ability to inspire others to join their purpose and mission.
The hope is that this Caring Catalyst inspirational video, “The Power of One,” inspires you to always try and be in that second group of people.
You have the power of one.
You have the power to make a difference. . .
BUT WILL YOU?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The thing about
H A P P I N E S S
is that it’s not always H A P P Y. . .
Reveals More Sadness
and More Kindness During COVID-19
KIRA M. NEWMAN, is the managing editor of Greater Good. Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post, Mindfulmagazine, Social Media Monthly, and Tech.co, and she is the co-editor of The Gratitude Project. and she helps us see that not all HAPPINESS is HAPPY
When bad things happen—wars, pandemics, shootings—the optimists of the world tend to turn their attention to all the goodness that still exists: the heroic fighters, the frontline workers, the givers and the helpers. But are we just deluding ourselves?
Not if the 2022 World Happiness Report is any indication. Although the pandemic has certainly caused division, there has also been a sizable increase in helping, donating, and volunteering across the globe—so big that the researchers are calling it a “pandemic of benevolence.”
“All must hope that the pandemic of benevolence will live far beyond COVID-19,” write the University of British Columbia’s John F. Helliwell and his coauthors. “If sustainable, this outpouring of kindness provides grounds for hope and optimism in a world needing more of both.”
The World Happiness Report is based on the Gallup World Poll, which surveys around 1,000 people per country in nearly 200 countries every year. The key question, used to create a ranking of the happiest countries in the world, asks people to evaluate their life as a whole on a scale of 0-10, from the worst possible to the best possible. This year, the United States climbed from #19 to #16 in the world, just below Canada and Germany. The top 10 happiest countries were the following:
The Gallup World Poll also asks questions about whether people helped a stranger, donated, or volunteered in the past month. According to the report, the “pandemic of benevolence” began in 2020, with more people helping strangers than in the several years prior. That number continued rising in 2021, alongside more people donating and volunteering, as well. Comparing the several years prior to the pandemic to 2021, the average number of people per country who donated increased from 30% to 37%, while volunteering increased from 19% to 23% and helping strangers increased from 48% to 69%. This trend is even more striking given that, before 2020, charitable donations had been on a long-term decline globally.
The uptick in kind, helpful behavior happened in every region of the world, from North America to Southeast Asia to the Middle East and North Africa. Those increases were particularly high in places that had previously lagged on “prosocial” behavior, like Eastern Europe.
While kindness increased in 2020-2021, people around the globe didn’t actually become less satisfied, according to their evaluations of life as a whole. It’s possible that this global wave of caring may have protected our well-being during the pandemic, the researchers suggest.
“Since this sometimes comes as a surprise, there is a happiness bonus when people get a chance to see the goodness of others in action and to be of service themselves,” the researchers write. Several studies conducted during COVID support this interpretation, finding that giving to others, offering support, and volunteering boosted people’s positive feelings.
Not all of the World Happiness Report’s findings around COVID were so uplifting. For example, we did feel more sadness and many report having fewer and fewer people to count on as the pandemic went on. In line with other research, younger people seemed to have a harder time than their elders, experiencing more negative emotions.
But lately, there have been some signs of recovery. While we (particularly women) became more worried and stressed in 2020, we fared better on both in 2021. And through it all, we still managed to have positive moments—there was no change in the number of people who said they laughed, experienced enjoyment, or did or learned something interesting the previous day.
None of this is meant to minimize the extreme hardships and inequality that people have faced during the pandemic. The researchers acknowledge that the portrait they are painting may be slightly rosier than reality, thanks to the necessity of using more phone surveys, rather than in-person ones. These may not have reached the populations hit hardest by the pandemic: nursing home residents, the homeless, the parents who are too burned out to take a telephone call.
But—as in 2020—the story, at least from these data, is one of resilience. With a little help from each other, perhaps we are stronger and more adaptable than we think.