The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to "protect and eventually replant trees on Telegraph Hill that serve as a favorite roost for a world-famous flock of parrots." (full details of their plan are on SFGate.com) … This flock of wild Amazonian parrots somehow landed in San Francisco years ago and have been breeding and entertaining crowds ever since. An award-winning and inspiring film was created that portrayed the love between the birds and a local street musician and hippie, Mark Bittner…
Famed Wild Parrots of San Francisco Get City’s Protection (Video)
The Violin Femmes
GNN member Helen Kopec wanted us to know about the explosion of talent by top-level violinists on the concert circuit who are young and female. (Denver Post)
At 88, She’s a Millionaire, and Keeps Teaching
Rose "Mama G" Gilbert, a feisty and talented California English teacher says she has no plans to retire, even though she has millions. (AP w/ photo)
‘Fair Trade’ Food Booming in Britain
"’Ethical eating,’ a practice once restricted to the rich, is going mainstream. Data show that Britons are avidly buying fair-trade groceries, organic foods, and sustainably farmed produce." (CS Monitor)
The Best Television for Uplifting Your Life (Review)
An inspiring trio of television shows are broadcasting on PBS affiliates during pledge drives this month. Through these shows, American public television viewers have enjoyed learning the good news about menopause, eight qualities of highly successful women, and the three ways to be inspired to your higher calling — all based on three best-selling books…
The women’s health expert, Dr. Christiane Northrup, is back with a new lecture that packs so much information into its 90 minutes, that you need to take notes. Whether it’s naming the one vitamin most women are deficient in — by half — (Vitamin D), or talking candidly about sex, weight issues and hormones, Christiane is the best voice out there for women on health. (By the way, she recommends limiting your news media intake knowing that it has a serious effect on nervous and immune systems — adding cortisol to the blood, for instance.) Please, if you are in your 40’s, you must become informed about the realities of Menopause — and it’s mostly GOOD NEWS! See this program, or devour the book… The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change
Modern financial guru, Suze Orman is also back on public television with her dynamic, funny and unique presentation about money especially made for women. This lady knows that money, just like anything else, is not going to be free-flowing into your life if you have emotional baggage surrounding the issue. She tells it like it is with great spirit. I particularly loved her 8 Qualities of Successful Women: Harmony, Balance, Courage, Cleanliness, and Wisdom, among others. And, she tells you how to create these qualities in simple steps, or at least how to begin to live them. If you can’t see this program, and get her products by pledging to PBS, I’d recommend you get Suze’s book, Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny.
Finally, if you didn’t catch Inspirational speaker and author, Wayne Dyer speak to PBS audiences last year on the topic of inspiration, you have another chance. This program is especially helpful if you haven’t found your life’s calling yet.
He features some people who have inspired him through reaching for their own life’s purpose, like Ryan Hreljac, the boy who started the Ryan’s Well initiative bringing clean water to African villages. Get some tips on finding your own calling.
Wayne Dyer’s book: Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling
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A Daily Dose of Awe and Gratitude
Most of us wake up thinking about how we are going to meet obligations or fulfill our promises to other people. We begin our day in response mode and remain that way until it’s time to go to bed.
For twelve years I have begun my day with the same positive ritual. No matter where I am, I start my day with a moment of awe. I wake up and head for the nearest window. I open the curtain and look outside. When I’m at home, I look at the ocean. When I’m at a hotel, I look at tall buildings. When I’m in Maine, I look at trees. Wherever I am there is always something interesting to draw my attention. Each time I look out my window I appreciate the fact that the universe does not revolve around me; it includes me…
Immersed in wonder and awe, and connected to the outdoors by a feeling I can’t explain, this first step in my morning ritual reminds me that the world is much bigger than my life and my concerns.
My Mom grew up in Maine and often reflects on the beauty of nature. She once said to me, “Think of the beauty of maple trees. The same force that makes sap run up a tree from its roots to its trunk, against gravity, is the same force that resides inside of you.” She made her point by gently poking me in the gut and saying, “It’s right there; connect to it.”
Profound Outcomes
University of Virginia Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the The Happiness Hypothesis, and Dacher Keltner, University of California-Berkeley Psychology professor, wrote about awe in Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman’s book, Character Strengths and Virtue:
People consistently report that experiences of awe and elevation have profound outcomes, motivating self-improvement, personal change, altruistic intentions and actions, and the devotion to others and the larger community.
The Second Step: Verbalizing
The second step of my morning ritual focuses on gratitude. I say everything for which I am grateful.
Philosophers, religious leaders, and teachers have taught us for thousands of years to begin our day by expressing and feeling gratitude for everything and everyone we have in our lives.
My list includes being grateful for a new day, the sleep I had the night before, my health, my family (by name), my close friends (by name), my key supporters in business (by name), and important opportunities professionally and personally. I make it a habit of visualizing the people and things as I say them; I want to keep these images fresh in my mind.
“Grateful individuals have a sense of abundance,” according to research by psychology professor Phillip Watkins and his colleagues at Eastern Washington University. “Grateful individuals appreciate the common everyday pleasures of life… appreciate the contribution of others to their well-being.”
A Ritual of Rewards
“A ritual can smooth life’s transition as can perhaps nothing else,” wrote Huston Smith, professor of Religion and Philosophy at Syracuse University, in his book The Religions of Man.
Gratitude and awe in my morning ritual helps me transition from a night of sleep to a new day of possibility.
Rituals also serve another function, says Smith, “namely to intensify appreciation and crown man’s joy with celebration.”
Every day is a new opportunity. What would happen if you started each day with a little awe and gratitude? This positive ritual could change your life.
David J. Pollay, MAPP, is the founder and president of The Momentum Project, an organization dedicated to increasing the positive momentum of their business clients. Email [email protected], or call 561.265.1165.
Original article first published in Positive Psychology News, the news source for positive psychology.
Greek Cypriots Tear Down Wall Dividing City
Greek Cypriots demolished a wall Friday along the boundary that for decades has split Europe’s last divided capital. The surprise demolition work began as bulldozers moved into the center of old Nicosia late Thursday to a wall that separates the Greek Cypriot area from the Turkish-controlled sector…
U.S. and Iran in Groundbreaking Talks
The U.S. and Iran held direct talks over the weekend for the first time in 28 years, to try to help stabilize Iraq. Iran called the meeting "constructive" and "problem-solving.” (Wales.co.uk)
Hoping to Be the Greenest Skyscraper
"If you don’t build green, you’re building obsolete."
Almost everything about the new Bank of America skyscraper in New York is environmentally green, from the roof that catches rainwater, to the underground parking garage, which because it is non-existent, will never be encouraging people to drive in Manhatten. (ABC News -Thanks to Alex for the link!) The bank will also be investing billions of dollars in other green projects, like new sustainable businesses. (GNN)
Airline Attendants Use Overseas Flights to Aid Half Million Orphans
An American Airlines flight attendant wondered how she could help others less fortunate than herself. Then, she noticed all the empty seats and spare cargo spaces on many overseas flights. She began taking bags of soaps and shampoos to orphanages in places like El Salvador, and promised to take one such trip per month. She was so inspired by her feelings for the children that she created Airline Ambassadors International and today is inspiring 590 other flight attendants and hundreds of citizens to make a difference in the world…
Twelve airlines have joined the cause, paying the added fuel costs that the surplus weight requires. Since 1996, this dynamic group has bettered the lives of more than a half million children in more than 50 countries around the globe… Congratulations to Nancy Rivard. Read more at NBC’s Making a Difference. Donate to her organization or read about its current projects at www.airlineamb.org
Europe to Slow Climate Change with Bulbs and Emission Reductions
All European homes, offices and streets must be using energy-efficient lighting, like this dimmable CF Warm Glow bulb, by the end of the decade, EU leaders decided on Friday. (Reuters) The previous day, the 27-nation group agreed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from the 1990 level before 2020, setting stricter standards than their earlier Kyoto commitment. “If other non-EU states are prepared to collaborate, a target of 30 percent will be considered,” Chancellor Merkel said. (ENN)
Instead of Hauling Water Up Mountain, New Faucets for Tajiks
For decades, residents of Kuldara, a village nestled in the remote mountainous region of Khovaling, Tajikistan, hauled water on their shoulders from the bottom of a gorge, up 800 meters of steep slope, to their homes. Now, thanks in part to a new water project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this arduous task is no longer necessary. Water flows effortlessly into the center of the village…
Tax Facts For Freelancers (Part 1)
GNN will begin a weekly series to help you with your taxes — especially beneficial to folks like me who haven’t done them yet! Today, Julian Block, an expert on tax issues related to freelance artists, writers and photographers, will answer some common questions about how many deductions we can legally claim on our income taxes in the U.S. this year…
Congress Takes Up Complaints on Credit Cards
"Executives from major U.S. banks were on the hot seat in Congress Wednesday over credit-card fees and penalties. One bank executive apologized to an aggrieved customer at the hearing." And, "as a result of recent hearings, several banks, including Chase and Citigroup, are announcing changes." Chase, regarding extended over-limit fees, and Citigroup, ending penalties for being late on another credit card and the practice of raising rates at any time. (NPR News)
Senior Collects Cans for 30 Years to Build Community Pool
An 83-year-old Kansas woman spent 30 years driving open roads, picking up aluminum cans, in a single-handed effort to raise enough money to build a community swimming pool for the children in her home town of Eskridge. For more than three decades, Maisie DeVore gathered and delivered cans, scrap metal and car parts to a recycling facility. Can by can, year after year, she earned $73,000 and received a matching grant to raise the rest. Says Maisie, “If you really want something and pursue it with all your mind, you’ll get it done one way or another.” Here’s a video featuring her and the pick-up truck, and that Kansas can-do attitude… (1:51)
The pool shimmers across the street from Maisie’s home, having been completed on July 14, 2001. You may have seen the event on CBS’s Sunday Morning featuring a parade that attracted more than 1,000 people. As her dream project was consecrated with a ceremony, Maisie took the first step into the completed pool. Since that day, the summer attendance has averaged about 100 people a day.
Ga. Trucker Claims Half of $390 Million Lottery
A Georgia trucker who lives with his mother is $80 million richer (after taxes) now that he has won the lottery. Ed Nabors, 52, says he will work at least two more days, but then, "Do a lot of fishing." He will also buy a new house for his daughter. (Full story plus video of Ed answering questions – MSNBC)
Bank of America Launches $20 Billion Environmental Initiative
America’s largest retail bank announced this week they will start to spend billions on projects that help sustain the earth, like offering commercial loans to green businesses, trimming its own environmental footprint, donating to green causes and offering incentives to customers and employees to buy energy-efficient homes and cars. (AP)
Ivory Coast: New Peace Agreement
(IRIN) – President Laurent Gbagbo and New Forces rebel leader Guillaume Soro have signed a peace agreement for Côte d’Ivoire aimed at ending a four-year political impasse that has divided the country and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. "It is a peace deal that could succeed where previous foreign-backed ones failed because all parties in the enduring conflict have backed it."…
Turkmenistan Teens Can Now Attend College
Turkmenistan’s new president has scrapped a rule that required high school graduates to work for two years before they enter university. President Gubanguli Berdymukhamedov signed an order dropping work requirements and reinstating university entrance exams.
Five Ways the United Nations is Saving People and the Planet
In 1997, the owner of Cable News Network, Ted Turner, shocked the world when he handed over a billion dollars to the United Nations. At the time, the United States had been delinquent in paying its UN dues and Turner was making up for it. He was passionate about the UN’s humanitarianism, especially their women and children’s health programs and environmental work. If you haven’t heard lately about the good deeds of the United Nations, these are five ways the UN is saving people and our planet, every day — including links so you can make donations to their lifesaving efforts…