WATCH: 100-Yr-Old Becomes Fashion Model to Celebrate Vogue’s Centennial

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May 10, 2016

When monsoon rains washed away a small Catholic church in Pakistan, Muslim neighbors were quick to help the minority’s congregation rebuild.

There are only eight Christian families in the farming village of Khalsabad, so raising the money for a new church didn’t look too promising.

The people are poor, but Muslim shopkeepers and farmers began contributing their own money to replace the mud-walled chapel.

The priest who oversees the congregation in Khalsabad and 55 other villages in the region calls the generosity “a dialogue of life.”

So far, the donations have helped build a new boundary wall around the site.

Muslim shopkeeper Dilawar Hussain donated $95 to the reconstruction.

CHECK OUT: Nigerian Army Rescues More Than 800 Boko Haram Hostages

“A church is also a house of Allah,” Hussain told Asia Today. “Praying is what matters. We worship the same God.”

It’s not uncommon for this kind of outreach between religions. Just about a year ago on the other side of the world, a Muslim congregation raised $5,000 to help out a neighboring Catholic church in Ontario, Canada after vandals caused $10,000 in damages.
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Volunteers Go ‘Rogue’, Ignore Police Lines to Rescue Pets Stranded in Fire Zone

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May 10, 2016

When a fast-moving wildfire stranded dozens of pets behind fire lines, a group of Canadian truck hobbyists kicked their compassion into high-gear, and slipped through barriers to rescue as many animals as they could before police forced them out of the area.

The massive Fort McMurray fire hit the Canadian town so quickly, some people couldn’t get home in time to pick up their pets. The evacuation order came suddenly and many people rushed home from work or shopping to find police had already cordoned off whole neighborhoods and weren’t letting anyone in because of the rapid movement of the fire.

Hundreds were forced to leave town with just the clothes on their backs.

LOOK: Guy Gives Shelter Dogs Free Haircuts to Help Them Get Adopted

That’s when members of Western Canadian Powerstrokes — who describe themselves as “truck enthusiasts who do charity work” — decided to help.

They’d gotten into the evacuated city as volunteers–to refuel trucks and equipment used to fight the fire–but were then told to wait because it was too dangerous along the fire lines. While they were waiting for orders, they heard about all the pets that had been left behind.

“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Wyatt Colquhoun-Rivard told CBC News. “And we just decided not to sit around anymore. We said ‘Let’s go save some pets…’ We went rogue.”

WATCH: Disabled Veteran Converts Wheelchair into Snow Plow to Help Town

The men broke down doors in an apartment building as smoke alarms screamed non-stop. Inside, they rescued about a half-dozen animals that had been trapped for two days.

Colquhoun-Rivard (pictured above with his first rescue, Zion) posted pictures to Facebook and were swamped with requests to rescue other pets.

The Powerstrokes then picked up five dogs and three cats belonging to Trina Holloway. They called her on the phone hoping her voice would coax her most frightened dog out from under the furniture where he was hiding.

After police shut down their animal search-and-rescue operation, Holloway’s dogs were put on a plane to Edmonton to be reunited with their family.

The Powerstrokes have inspired dozens of other animal rescue groups to form. Volunteers from across Alberta have loaded up trucks and trailers and raced to the scene to round up stray pets and reunite them with their families.

They’re using social media — posting pictures of the animals they find and asking people to post pictures of their pets and addresses where they had to be left behind.

WATCH: Give a Prisoner an Abused Dog and See What Happens – Karmic Connection

People who can’t go to Fort McMurray are sending donations to help. The Humane Society in Edmonton has been flooded with pet food donations. They bundling it up for shipment to evacuation centers around the fire zone.

There’s a website set up to report the locations of pets that need rescue, and also report the good news about animals recovered so far. While most of the requests are for dogs and cats, it also shows a diverse pet population in the community — one man even reported 32 geckos that need tending.

(READ more at CBC News) — Photo: Wyatt Colquhoun-Rivard, Facebook; Charlees Angels for Animals, Facebook
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Graduates Don’t Just Walk for Diplomas, They Show Little Kids How it’s Done

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May 9, 2016

150 teens kicked off the start of their adult lives by revisiting the schools that served as stepping stones for their growth.

The Van Independent High School in Texas hosted a ‘Senior Walk’, in which all their graduating seniors are cheered on by younger K-8 students as they walk through their middle and elementary school campuses.

The school’s administrators got the idea from circulating social media photos and posts showing the ceremony at other campuses.

“I never knew how much of an influence we had on the younger kids, but seeing their faces light up as we walked through their halls and high fived them, it really put it in perspective for me,” Ashley Mosley said on the school’s Facebook page.

“It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Click To Share the Inspiring Idea… (Photos by the Van ISD Facebook)

Farmer is Sweet on Bee Hives As Perfect Fence to Keep Elephants Safely Away

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May 9, 2016

Biologists in Kenya have discovered a deliciously ingenious method of balancing the needs of farmers, bees, and marauding wildlife all at once.

African elephants are notoriously tempted by crops growing on nearby farms. Farmers, until now have known very few humane ways to prevent them from eating and trampling harvests. Fencing is typically too expensive for smaller farmers, while standing guard in fields with airhorns and bright lights is very labor-intensive.

Breeding honeybees, however, not only turns out to be a deterrent to keep out giant mammals, but also a sweet benefit for the farmer.

In a new campaign by the Save The Elephants charity, the Elephants And Bees project is empowering farmers with a win-win Beehive Fence design so they can efficiently protect their land, while raising an extra crop.

A trip line is rigged between fence posts that – when pulled – activates a disturbance mechanism in the beehives. Since elephants have evolved to the point of fleeing anytime they even hear the sound of the stinging insects, they are compelled to retreat.

MORE: Huge Victory for Bees! US Court Bans Insecticide Linked to Deaths

Costing only a few dollars per meter makes the solution extremely cost-effective while also providing a cash crop of honey for the small rural farmers and a proper habitat for the declining bee population.

The increased pollination of surrounding vegetation also benefits the environment by supporting edible greenery for local wildlife and providing a carbon sink for atmospheric carbon.

CHECK OUT: Honey Nut Cheerios Gives Back to Bees, Planting 3,300 Acres of Habitat

The method is such an unbeelievably sustainable solution, that is quickly spreading to Uganda, Sri Lanka, Botswana, and Mozambique.

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Hummingbird Refuses to Leave the Dog Who Saved Her Life (WATCH)

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May 9, 2016

Abandoned as a puppy and growing up on the streets, this mixed German shepherd was vicious—until he was rescued, shown some love, and then he, himself, rescued a dying baby hummingbird.

The grateful bird refuses to leave the dog’s side, and Rex has a gentle friend for life.

The birdlet had fallen from a nest and was covered with ants when Rex found her under a tree. Ed Gernon, who had adopted the dog a month earlier, thought the bird was dead, but Rex refused to leave it behind.

The Whittier, California man eventually realized the hummingbird was still breathing, brought her home, and nursed it back to health with a sugar syrup mixture. He named it Hummer and even taught it to fly using a hairdryer.

It’s been more than a year but Hummer refuses to leave, insisting on staying close to the dog who steadfastly refused to abandon the chick. Birds, even penguins, can build strong bonds with those who rescue them.

WATCH: Baby Deer Refused To Leave Side of Man Who Rescued It

The bird lives inside their house and Gernon created a YouTube page devoted to Hummer’s exploits with Rex.

In flying form, Gernon knows it’s time for Hummer to mate, so he’s been leaving doors and windows open for the bird to leave, but so far, she prefers hovering around Rex, wherever he goes—even bathing in Rex’s water bowl.

“It’s like living with Tinkerbell,” Gernon told KCBS News. “It was this little creature. This fragile creature that the whole world wanted to kill and he was trying to protect her so I thought I’d go the distance.”

(WATCH the video below from KCBS News) — Photo: Ed Gernon, YouTube

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Man Digs Well in 40 Days For His Wife After She’s Denied Water, Whole Town Benefits

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May 9, 2016

A man just proved his whole village wrong by doing what was considered impossible, in a determined frenzy that neighbors called crazy.

After his wife was turned away and insulted by locals for trying to drink from a well, Bapurao Tajne was pushed to the edge hearing about the disrespect of their poorer working caste condition.

MORE: Village in India Plants 111 Fruit Trees Whenever a Girl is Born

Tajne put his back and tools to work for six hours every day digging a new water well all by himself in their village of Kalambeshwar –a task that typically requires a team of four or five men. Villagers ridiculed the man’s mission knowing such a feat had never been accomplished before and other attempts to locate new sources of water in the area had already failed.

Now, after only forty days, the unwavering husband struck gold–and his newly-created well will provide water for all the other previously-insulted working class villagers – known as Dalits – in the Washim district of India.

CHECK OUT: Man Plants Forest Bigger Than Central Park to Save His Island in India

“I don’t want to name the well owner for I don’t want bad blood in the village,” Tajne told Times Of India. “However, I feel that he insulted us because we are poor and Dalits. I came home that day in March and almost cried. I resolved never to beg for water from anybody. I went to Malegaon (the closest town) and bought tools and within an hour I started digging.”

After his efforts revealed the water source, his two sons have aided him in digging deeper than his initial 15-feet-depth.

The success is not unlike that of Dashrath Manjhi, the “Mountain Man” who single-handedly carved a path through a mountain by toiling away for 22 years to provide his wife an easier route to town.

(WATCH the NewsX video below) –Photo via news video

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Crops Grown on Barge Lets Folks in NYC Pick Free Food From Docks

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May 9, 2016

If people can’t get to a neighborhood garden, this group promises to bring the garden to them.

A project called Swale has built an “edible forrest” on an 80-foot barge that will cruise around New York City to let people pick their own fruits and vegetables for free.

Partially an art installation, the Swale barge urban garden will use New York’s waterways to deliver nutritious food to the city’s food deserts, with scheduled stops through the summer at different docks around the city. People will be encouraged to step aboard and harvest fresh produce for their kitchens.

Food Barge NYC rendering Released Swale — Images from The Swale

More than 80 species of trees, plants, and herbs grow on the barge — ranging from apples to arugula to yams — and it’s designed to give people a taste of what urban gardening can accomplish.

America’s seen a bumper crop of urban farms in recent years from rooftop gardens in Brooklyn to a business developer guaranteeing a permanent place for people to till the land in St. Louis, Missouri. Even prisons and homeless shelters have turned to urban farming techniques to grow their own food and teach people useful skills.

CHECK OUT: Guerilla Grafters Add Fruit Tree Branches On City Trees to Grow Free Apples

Swale plans to launch an IndieGoGo campaign to keep the garden barge project afloat through the summer.

“We want to show that healthy, fresh food can be a free public service,” Swale creator Mary Mattingly told Tech Insider, “not just an expensive commodity, and something that for not much work and effort, a city could supply.”Harvest This Story For Your Friends, Share It…

This Olympic Moms Video Will Bring Tears as You Say #ThankYouMom

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May 8, 2016

More than 95,000 people have shared this dramatic two-minute video to say “thank you” to their mothers for being strong.

As a sponsor of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the Procter & Gamble Co. created this touching video with the theme, “It takes someone strong to make someone strong.”

Even if you have never competed in sports, Mother’s Day is a great day to celebrate all the moms who have nurtured our spirits and encouraged our strengths.

CHECK OUT: Orphan Best Friends Unknowingly Adopted By Families in Same Town Overseas

(WATCH the video below)

SHARE This and say Thank You to Your Mom…

How Positive Media Can Make Us Better People

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Science Shows Smiling is Helpful When You’re Stressed – Even if You Don’t Mean it

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May 8, 2016

Would you believe the highest-grossing film internationally during the first four months of 2016 is not a shoot-‘em-up action hero, but a family-friendly animated film called Zootopia that’s been praised for its positive messages?

For a long time, media researchers focused almost entirely on the harmful effects of media – violence, aggression, racial and gender stereotypes, and its potential to shape people’s perception of the world as a dangerous place. Now, a new set of studies highlight the potential of media to spread goodness on a wide scale.

Sophie H. Janicke has conducted several of these studies, and she thinks the implications are very exciting. She wrote this article for The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley:

In the last few years, studies of media psychology have illustrated how, just as some films, TV shows, and other media can foster anti-social behavior, media with positive images and messages can make us want to become better people and help others—to become more “prosocial,” as we researchers put it.

For example, a 2012 study by one of the seminal scholars in the field, Mary Beth Oliver of Penn State University, identified the power of films that elicit “elevation,” the warm, uplifting feeling we get when we watch someone perform deeply moral acts, such as acts of gratitude, generosity, or loyalty. In this study, Oliver and her colleagues asked 483 students to recall either a particularly meaningful or a particularly pleasurable movie they watched recently and to indicate the degree to which they felt joyful or elevated from watching it. When the researchers analyzed the content of these movies, they found that, sure enough, the meaningful movies depicted altruistic values, such as social justice and care for the weak, significantly more often than the pleasurable movies did.

They also found that the meaningful movies elicited greater feelings of elevation among respondents, which was expressed in a distinct set of emotional and physical sensations: feeling happy and sad at the same time, a lump in one’s throat, tearing up, a rising or opening of the chest, and chills.

CHECK OUT: Nature, Art and Spirituality May Boost the Body’s Defenses

What’s more, these feelings of elevation, in turn, were associated with a greater motivation to become a better person and do good things for others; the pleasurable movies, by contrast, motivated people to enjoy themselves and seek popularity.

Research also suggests that movies can influence not only our desire to do good but also the way we perceive the world as a whole. This research builds on earlier findings that the amount of TV people watch correlates with the degree to which they will see the world as a dangerous place, also known as “mean-world syndrome.” Research on inspiring media, by contrast, suggests that exposure to elevating media may have the potential to shift our perception of the world toward a “kind-world syndrome.”

For example, a 2011 study led by Karl Aquino of the University of British Columbia found that people who experienced elevation from reading a story about uncommon goodness became more likely to believe that there is good in the world. The more people experienced elevation, the more they perceived the world to be full of generosity and kindness. And research suggests there might be concrete benefits to this mental shift: Studies indicate that holding a cynical worldview—to only expect the worst of people—is actually bad for your health; however, seeing humanity’s positive potential can make us feel good (we experience positive emotions), which, in turn, can lead to an upward spiral of well-being.

Research that my colleagues and I have conducted points to social benefits of meaningful films as well. We asked 266 students to identify films that are meaningful to them; their responses generated a long list of movies, with the most popular ones being Remember the Titans, Forrest Gump, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

We found that these types of films are more likely than pleasurable films to depict values of love, kindness, and connectedness, and to elicit elevation. In addition, experiencing elevation from such movies made the participants feel more connected to dear friends and family, as well as to the transcendent, spiritual aspects of life—which, in turn, inspired a host of prosocial motivations. Specifically, watching a movie such as A Walk To Remember or The Blindside made them feel a general sense of compassionate love for people, made them want to help people less fortunate than themselves, and generally made them want to be kind and good to fellow human beings, even strangers.

When Drugs Don’t Work: Restoring Happiness in People With Depression

Our findings highlight that elevation not only makes us feel more connected toward people we know but also makes us feel compassionate toward people we don’t—even to the point that we’re motivated to make sacrifices for strangers. The study suggests that the elevation we get from films can help us transcend our egocentric bias and forge more compassionate connections to others.

Of course, making these positive changes stick is not something that happens overnight. Nor is it enough to see portrayals of moral beauty, kindness, and generosity only every once in a while. For positive media to have strong, lasting effects on us individually or collectively, I believe we need to consume it consistently, over time, just as eating right only once a week does not make us healthier.

But it is encouraging to see that these effects are possible, and that our media consumption patterns can be a force for good in the world, not just a way to make media companies rich. The research on positive media is still evolving (and I will be covering more of it in future Greater Good articles). But so far, it suggests that when we select inspiring content on TV, in films, or through social media, we’re not just making ourselves feel good in the moment. We’re nurturing our instincts for compassion and kindness.

This piece originally appeared in Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

How a Mother’s Day in India Uplifted the Lives of 1,700 Orphans

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May 8, 2016

Caroline Boudreaux was living the luxurious life of an account executive in Texas until her perspective was turned upside-down by the eyes of an orphan.

The young Texan had the nice car, the thriving social life, the well-paying job, and the roomy house – then in 2000, Caroline wanted to spend the summer traveling around the world with her friend, Chris. On Mother’s Day, the two had arrived in a small Indian village to visit Chris’s sponsored child.

The staggering number of orphans in the town was enough to break her heart.

WATCH: 82-Year-old Woman Finally Finds Long Lost 96-yo Birth Mother

After seeing so many desperate children in need of parental attention, Caroline’s life was changed forever. She decided to create the Miracle Foundation.

Since then, her nonprofit group has provided funding for over 1,700 orphans in India along with training for displaced women. The orphanages employ locals in need of jobs while the children receive food, clean water, health care, education, and – most importantly – love.

MORE: Your Mom Always Said WHAT? A Collection of Funny Momisms for Mother’s Day

“Miraculously, people of all ages, from all walks of life, and from all socioeconomic backgrounds have joined us in this journey over the years,” Caroline says on The Miracle Foundation website. “Hundreds have come to India to meet the children we support, and many more have become monthly donors and are financially committed to our work.”

“We are appropriately named!” Honor This Mother’s Day Love: Share It..

Lost Baby Beaver at DC Subway is Cared For Until Help Arrives (VIDEO)

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May 7, 2016

It’s a good thing this little critter ran into these compassionate commuters – the city is a dangerous place for a baby beaver.

The Van Ness Metro station passengers in Washington D.C. found the mammal wandering around the plaza on its own without a mama. The protective crowd kept the beaver from straying, though the adventurous marmot went so far as to crawl onto one of the onlooker’s shoe.

LOOK: Adorable Sloth Clinging to a Guardrail Before Highway Rescue

Scott Giacoppo, the chief community animal welfare officer with the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League arrived on the scene and teamed up with police officials to gather the baby into a nearby shoe box.

After some deliberation, the beaver was considered old enough to be on its own and was released into a a more rural area of the city near water.

WATCH: Bear Literally Can’t Stop Jumping For Joy After Being Rescued

Go Tail All Your Friends About This D.C. Cutie…Click To Share! (Photo: Jonathan Murray)

Bride Receives Replacement Wedding Dress From Kind Strangers After Fire

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May 7, 2016

A photo posted by Alex Neary (@wildeyed) on May 5, 2016 at 5:05pm PDT

Elise Boissonneault was just another excited bride-to-be counting down the hours to her wedding day… until she was forced to evacuate her home in Fort McMurray because of a raging wildfire and had to leave all her possessions behind –including her wedding dress.

With their marriage set to be performed that weekend in Toronto, Elise asked Alex Neary –her wedding photographer and friend– to post a query on social media asking if anyone was willing to lend her a replacement gown.

Within hours, hundreds of strangers sent offers and letters of encouragement to the worried evacuee. Designers, photographers, artists, and wedding consultants all continued to search, exchanging suggestions and connections to find a last-minute outfit.

Finally, Elise and Alex dropped by LeaAnn Belter Bridal in Toronto where she was given not one, but two dresses: one to wear during the ceremony, the other during the reception.

MORE: “Little Angel” Appears in Mom’s Wedding Photos 2 Years After Passing Away

“Elise was so overcome with emotions by everything that has happened and I can safely say that the kindness shown by strangers has touched her more than you will ever know,” Alex wrote on her Instagram. “Thank you SO much for all of your help! You really don’t know how much it means to her and her family.”

Elise’s home has reportedly survived the wildfires and she says she plans to offer other evacuees the same kindness that she was shown, to help pay all that generosity forward.

Warm Your Friends’ Hearts With This Story… Click To Share

China’s Forests Steadily Recovering From Decades of Deforestation

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May 7, 2016

China’s sweeping program to restore forests across the country is working.

The vast destruction of China’s forests from decades of logging, floods and conversion to farmland, has now become a story of recovery, according to the first independent verification published in today’s Science Advances by Michigan State University researchers.

The turnaround is thanks to the country’s National Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) established at the beginning of the 21st century, the largest forest conservation and restoration program in the world. It bans logging in many forested areas and compensates citizens who monitor activities and help prevent illegal timber harvesting.

“It is encouraging that China’s forest has been recovering in the midst of its daunting environmental challenges such as severe air pollution and water shortages,” said co-author Jianguo “Jack” Liu, director of MSU’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, who points out that China is increasingly connected with other countries both socioeconomically and environmentally.

The researchers used NASA’s satellite imaging technology to examine and correlate the status of forestry growth with the implementation of the NFCP. And, as the Chinese government has contended, the program is working and forests are recovering–with about 1.6 percent, or nearly 61,000 square miles (158,000 square km), of China’s territory seeing a significant gain in tree cover.

“Our results are very positive for China,” said author Andrés Viña. “If you look at China in isolation, its program is working effectively and contributing to carbon sequestration in accordance to its agenda for climate change mitigation.”

INSPIRING: India Man Plants Forest Bigger Than Central Park to Save His Island

The Michigan researchers were supported by the National Science Foundation and MSU AgBioResearch.Share The Green Good News With Your Friends On Facebook –Photo by Wackybadger, CC

Moms Should Celebrate Mother’s Day By Putting Their Own Minds First

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Martha Brettschneider

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May 7, 2016

What’s the best gift you could imagine receiving for Mother’s Day? Your kids delivering breakfast in bed? Your husband giving you a foot massage to express his gratitude for all you do to hold the family together?

I’m wired to wake up at 5:30 a.m., so waiting in bed a few hours with a growling stomach isn’t appealing. And foot massages have never been part of my Mother’s Day fantasy.

One year I just asked for everyone to simply not fight for the day. I think we went to an amusement park to facilitate this, even though roller coasters make me throw up.

Wake-up call: Life becomes a lot simpler once you discover the power of mindfulness to ensure your own happiness on Mother’s Day and every day.

What is Mindfulness?

Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk and founder of the meditation app Headspace, defines mindfulness as:

“The intention to be present in the here and now, fully engaged in whatever is happening, free from distraction or judgment, with a soft and open mind.”

MORE: Mom Adopts Hospice Babies No One Else Wants

I stumbled into mindfulness quite by accident while recovering from a mastectomy seven years ago. There’s nothing like cancer to bring the message home that life is happening right now and we’d better start paying attention.

I had spent the first several years of motherhood looking ahead to when “my life” would begin again, when everyone else didn’t need as much of my attention. Though I didn’t regret stepping off the career ladder to raise my kids when the nanny skipped town unexpectedly, I kept a tight little bundle of resentment buried inside me. I infected everyone else in the household with my self-inflicted stress.

WATCH: 6-Year-Old Girl Gives Mom Inspiring Life Lesson After Parental Fight

The epiphany came when an audio book that I thought would help me with career planning turned out to be about how ego creates suffering in our lives. (The book was A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.

Ego is what tells us to compare ourselves to others, to judge ourselves and others. Ego tells us that no matter how good life is, things could always be a little bit better. Ego either directs us to the past to tell us we’re victims or pushes us into the future to tell us things must be better one day.

CHECK OUT: Daughter Finds Silver Lining And Fun in Last Days of Mom’s Terminal Illness

Ego does whatever it can to hide the beauty of the present moment, because it would be put out of a job otherwise.

But here’s the kicker: ego isn’t our true essence. We don’t have to buy into it. By taking the steering wheel out of the hands of ego, the beauty of life in the present moment—the only time when anything real happens—opens up to us.

Why This Message Is so Important for Mothers

Let’s face it. As mothers we’re constantly judging ourselves, second-guessing ourselves, never feeling as though we’re doing enough or doing it well.

MORE: How to Be Grateful Even During Tough Times

We keep our calendars full, always prioritizing everyone else in our lives. Our heads are packed so tightly with to-do lists and worries about future scenarios that we can’t hear ourselves think.

Mindfulness teaches us to step back, take a breath, and reconnect with the present moment.

Whether it was on an airplane or elsewhere, you’ve probably heard the advice to “Put on your oxygen mask first so that you can be most helpful to others.” A few minutes of stillness each day simply focusing on your breath, in meditation, or practicing other mindfulness techniques all serve as that oxygen mask.

Only in stillness can we untangle which thoughts are valuable and which aren’t serving us. With practice, we can shine a bright light on those bullying thoughts that stem from ego and simply let them float by without buying into them.

Mindfulness, and meditation in particular, is sort of like cleaning out your closet, getting rid of outdated clothes that aren’t flattering on you anymore. With practice, we learn to discard unflattering thoughts that make us unhappy.

7 Ways for Mothers to Reap the Benefits of Mindfulness

1. Carve out some time each day for stillness. It doesn’t have to long—even ten minutes a day is helpful. Frequency is more important than the length of time. It’s all about habit building.

CHECK OUT: How To Be The Architect Of Your Own Fortune and Learn to Be Lucky

2. Engage your senses in an enjoyable activity. Neuroscience has proven that multitasking is a myth—our brains can only do one thing at a time. When we’re focused on the feel, aroma, or sound of an experience, our racing thoughts dissolve. Gardening, exercise, and floral photography are my personal go-to sensory activities, but yours might be walking in the woods, painting, or any other activity that brings you to your senses.

3. Incorporate mindful moments into your day: instead of checking your phone as frequently, take 30 seconds for mindful breathing; instead of scanning tabloids in the grocery store line, breathe in some presence; instead of being angry at the traffic light for turning red, relax your hands on the steering wheel and focus on the sensory feel against your palms.

4. Give yourself permission to view self-care as essential to good parenting. Though your children’s path in life is ultimately outside of your full control (sorry, folks), the best you can do is model self-care practices that will hopefully influence them to cultivate their own healthy habits down the road.

5. Recognize that your energy, whether positive or negative, is contagious. Kids have enough of their own stress and drama to deal with. Our own presence and positive energy can help to ease their burden.

6. Take action where you can in the present moment and let go of what you can’t control. I promise you, life becomes a lot easier.

7. Pay attention to what brings you joy and do more of it. Mother’s Day is the perfect day to get quiet, listen to your heart’s whispers, and follow the path of inspiration.

MORE: How Slowing Down Can Make Room for Kindness

Mindfulness helps us cultivate gratitude by noticing the beauty in life’s tiny details in the here and now. What better gift to give ourselves on Mother’s Day?

Because when Mama’s happy, everyone’s happy. Right?

Martha Brettschneider is an author, blogger, speaker, master gardener, and award-winning photographer. In 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which reoriented her perception of body, mind, and spirit. A former international economist, Brettschneider transformed from a left-brained business woman to a meditation-touting creative finally at peace with the world. She chronicles her journey in her debut book Blooming into Mindfulness: How the Universe Used a Garden, Cancer, and Carpools to Teach Me That Calm Is the New Happy. Connect with Martha on her website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Photo by Julien Ducenne, CC

Refugees Give Back To Host Country and Canadians Displaced by Wildfire

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May 6, 2016

The same Syrian refugees who have been welcomed into Canada after fleeing their destroyed homeland are now giving back to Canadians whose own homes were recently destroyed.

All 88,000 citizens of Fort McMurray, Alberta have been evacuated under a state of emergency due to a raging wildfire consuming the landscape. The escaping families have fled north, essentially refugees now, seeking safety in cities like Calgary.

That’s where the Syrian Refugee Support Group is lending a helping hand.

The founders of the Facebook organization traveled around town asking every Syrian family to donate at least $5 to aid the city that opened its arms to them. The donations are being put towards toiletries and hygienic products for the Fort McMurray families.

The 1,400 Syrian refugees who’ve been settled in Calgary and around Alberta since November are contributing more than just money. Hampers of toys, clothes, food, provisions, and furniture that they received only months ago when arriving in North America are being donated back to the Canadians now in need.

WATCH: Man Builds Tiny House for Homeless Woman Sleeping in the Dirt

“All the Syrians are saying, ‘I’m ready to give, I’m ready to give,’” said Saima Jamal, a co-founder of the Syrian Refugee Support Group.

“Canadians have provided a lot to us,” said one Middle Eastern refugee. “Now it is our turn.”

Find out how you can help the displaced Canadians, and learn more about Syrian support, at the Calgary Herald.

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Student Born Without Hands Just Won Handwriting Competition

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May 6, 2016

This first-grader just won a prestigious award for handwriting even though she can’t use her hand, and writes with her arms instead.

Anaya Ellick was born without any fingers and thumbs but that didn’t keep her from scoring the Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellence in Manuscript Penmanship.

By standing up at her desk and holding the pencil between her two arms, Anaya can create neat and perfect lines that are impressive for any seven-year-old.

WATCH: Disabled Veteran Converts Wheelchair into Snow Plow to Help Town

“Anaya is a remarkable young lady. She does not let anything get in the way of doing what she has set out to do,” Anaya’s principal at Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake, Virginia, told WKTR.

The diligent child was given a $1,000 cash reward and a trophy at a victory celebration Wednesday morning.

(WATCH the WKTR video below)

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Grandfather Shocked When Grandson Surprises Him With New Car (WATCH)

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May 6, 2016

Henry Spencer wasn’t expecting to receive a cake on his birthday let alone a brand new Jaguar.

For his grandfather’s special day, Tom Cassell surprised him by jumping out of the trunk of the automobile and dropping the keys right into Henry’s hand.

Tom promised his grandpa years ago that he would one day, when he could afford it, buy him the luxury sports car of his dreams– and that day finally came.

(WATCH the video above)

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Watch George Clooney And Julia Roberts on Carpool Karaoke w/ Gwen Stefani

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May 6, 2016

Today is George Clooney’s 55th birthday, a perfect moment to take a look at what the prankster has been up to.

One of our favorite bits on modern late night talk shows is Carpool Karaoke on “The Late Late Show”.

James Corden invites guests, like Adele, to sing along with music on his car stereo as he drives around. On Wednesday, his passenger was the singer Gwen Stefani, which was fun enough already, but when James is ready to go into the carpooling HOV-4 lane, he needs a couple people for the backseat.

Who better than Julia Roberts and Clooney?

Watch them hop in and belt out songs from Queen and Stefani in this hilarious segment.

(The two superstars join James and “The Voice” coach, at 5:44 minutes in)

(Photos: CBS)

Young Man With Down Syndrome Ignores Naysayers, Opens Own Business

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