Quote of the Day: “A bird is safe in its nest—but that is not what its wings are made for.” – Amit Ray
Photo: by Hersh Chauhan
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Tens of thousands of pristine cave paintings were found daubed across an eight-mile stretch of rock in a once-in-a-century discovery in Colombia’s Amazon rainforest.
Hailed as the “Sistine Chapel of the Ancients,” it’s the kind of discovery that changes the world of archaeology.
Believed to be 12,500 years old, the art is extremely detailed, and includes handprints and depictions of Ice Age megafauna like the mastodon, a relative of the mammoth, Ice Age horses, and giant ground sloths.
The discovery, made in Chiribiquete National Park in the south of Colombia, was actually made in 2019 but was kept quiet to be revealed in a major documentary called Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon.
Presumably, archaeologists also want to preserve as much time to study the art alone as they can, as the news could draw tourists, or even looters and artifact hunters to the site.
RELATED: While Excavating 1000-Year-old Viking Ship, Norwegians Find Remnants of Elite Society
The discoverers suspect the works could have been made by Paleolithic hunters who crossed the Bering land bridge into the new world from Siberia.
A joint Colombian-British team made the discovery, led by Jose Iriarte, a professor of archaeology at Exeter University, who was quite vocal about the raw power of literally tens of thousands of different images, some of which are so well done they include horse tails with individual hairs painted.
CHECK OUT: Rare Archeological Treasures Discovered Beneath Attic Floorboards of English Tudor Mansion
“When you’re there, your emotions flow… We’re talking about several tens of thousands of paintings. It’s going to take generations to record them … Every turn you do, it’s a new wall of paintings,” he told the Observer.
Further complicating the mystery is that the paintings cover nearly every inch even far up the cliff faces where they were only seen clearly when the archaeologist broke out the flying camera drones.
“I’m 5ft 10in and I would be breaking my neck looking up. How were they scaling those walls?” said Paleo-archaeologist Ella Al-Shamahi, who will present the new documentary.
Along with large mammals, birds, fish, lizards—masked figures often in dance are also painted here.
Trees and hallucinogenic plants are also depicted, which wasn’t a surprise to Iriarte who noted that “for Amazonian people, non-humans like animals and plants have souls, and they communicate and engage with people in cooperative or hostile ways through the rituals and shamanic practices that we see depicted in the rock art.”
Chiribiquete was an area that was controlled by the anti-government paramilitary organization FARC until recently, when they signed a truce with Bogota, which is likely one reason why it’s taken so long to discover such an enormous trove of cave paintings.
Al-Shamahi recalled, according to the Guardian, that “when we entered FARC territory, it was exactly as a few of us have been screaming about for a long time. Exploration is not over. Scientific discovery is not over but the big discoveries now are going to be found in places that are disputed or hostile.”
MORE: Buried Roman City Mapped in Stunning Detail Using Ground-Penetrating Radar
The team will be back, searching the surrounding areas for more paintings as soon as COVID-19 allows.
Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon debuted on Channel 4 in the UK in December. Watch a clip below…
SHARE This Astonishing Find on Your Own Wall on Social Media…
Weddings are by their nature, inherently touching, but for one recent bride and groom, the ceremony was not only touching but tactile as well.
When Kelly Anne and Anthony Ferraro decided to tie the knot, Kelly wanted to make the day extra special for her soon-to-be husband. Since Anthony is blind, she knew he wouldn’t get to view her in her wedding finery, but nonetheless, she was determined to make sure he got to “see” her by on their big day.
He’d simply have to use his other senses.
Combining a variety of fabrics, the custom-made, one-of-a-kind gown Kelly came up with for her walk down the aisle was taken more from pages of a book by Louis Braille than as a nod to the designer fare of traditional bridal magazines.
Kelly’s dress told a romantic tale in texture—one that was meant for her true love alone to read.
“She’s like, ‘Well you can’t see me, so I’ve got to wear something that feels nice,’” Anthony told CBS News. “No one’s ever thought to do that—ever.”
RELATED: Implanted Electrodes Could Offer Improved Vision for 148 Million Blind People
Kelly’s eloquent nuptial frock wasn’t without precedent. For their first date, she purposely chose to wear a velvet dress so Anthony would be able to feel its softness.
She recalls her sister teased her over her wardrobe selection at the time, but Kelly refused to give in because she thought Anthony might appreciate the gesture. He did. So much so in fact, that the example served as inspiration for her multi-textured wedding gown.
When the couple met at the altar, a jubilant Kelly urged Anthony to feel her dress. “My mind was blown. I started crying,” he told CBS. “It was just like I was able to see Kelly. That was the best part… when I was feeling the dress, I was creating this image of an angel in my brain. It was just so beautiful.”
MORE: Restaurant Makes Special Chocolate For Blind Customer With Birthday Message in Braille
Anthony credits Kelly with the kind of empathy that’s all too rare in the world. He says being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes is admirable, but having the ability not only to understand that each of us is unique but also to be willing to take the extra step that’s sometimes needed to make others feel included, appreciated—and loved—is a true gift.
For Anthony, having found that quality of compassion in Kelly is more than just a wedding present—it’s a blessing that will last a lifetime.
(WATCH the CBS video for this story below. Editor’s Note: Viewers outside the US can view this video on the CBS website, here)
FEEL Good News Should Be Accesible to All—Share This Story…
In the UK, historic churches are becoming unique destinations for an overnight stay in nature—at the same time that money is being raised to save them.
It’s all thanks to “Champing,” the latest in the history of the Brit’s tampering with the world “camping” (“glamping” originated as a word here in 2005.)
Champing involves booking a church as a campsite for the night, and Champing the organization ensures that unmet necessities are provided, and that all proceeds keep the churches, some of which date back to the 12th century, in good order.
Champing started when some Scots camped in a church cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust, and guessed after a great night that perhaps other folk would enjoy a similar nighttime experience.
On the banks of the River Nene, the Scots hired the local canoe rental company to provide accommodations to those traveling up the river in Northhampshire by hosting them at All Saints, at Aldwincle, a 12-sleeping church built in around the late 1400s.
Now Aldwincle is one of 20 churches managed by Champing, who provide camp beds, camp stoves, fairy lights, lanterns, and tea- and coffee-making equipment.
For the churches without flushing toilets, Champing provide a mobile one powered by solar energy.
They’ll even try to include a breakfast, if delivery can be facilitated or if a restaurant is willing to partner with them.
St. Leonard’s, in Old Langho, Lancashire, is a cozy church set in the heart of the Ribble Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty and also known as the food capital of the North. There is a family friendly pub next door and a Michelin-starred restaurant nearby.
St. Leonard’s was built immediately following the Protestant Reformation, and the details are very different, including exquisitely-carved wooden pew benches engraved with the initials of the patrons of the early construction.
An 540 square-mile forest, a medieval castle museum, and a manor house containing England’s first-ever wafflery, are all nearby.
Perched proudly on a hilltop, All Saints Church at Langport has a thriving local community to explore, with cideries, cozy cafes, and more. Built in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 15th, Langport has electricity, and the finest collection of stained glass in Somerset.
St. Cuthbert’s Church in Holme Lacy, Herefordshire, sits along a pretty bend in the River Wye, and is crafted of beautiful stone work containing exquisite monuments to the church’s patrons from the Middle Ages, the Scudamore Family, who were buried here.
MORE: Rent Winnie the Pooh’s Tree House in the Original Hundred Acre Wood at This ‘Bearbnb’
Nearby Hereford Cathedral is the stunning centerpiece of an old Medieval townscape. Its archives include world famous literary relics including the Chained Library, and some of the most famous documents in history, the Mappa Mundi and the Magna Carta.
HELP Good News Make the Pilgrimage to Friends’ Feeds; Share This Story…
A “bioactive scaffold” regenerated damaged cells in the nervous systems of mice paralyzed from spinal cord injuries, allowing them to walk again 3-4 weeks after treatment—an astonishing feat never before achieved.
The treatment opens a gateway into research on curing paralysis that’s never been opened before, and could be subject of FDA trials as early as next year.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am about this work,” said Northwestern University’s Samuel Stupp, who led the trial. “This is probably the most important paper I’ve ever written, and it describes a piece of science that was truly unknown.”
Spinal cord injuries are generally game over as far as normal movement is concerned—on average, fewer than 3% of the 300,000 people in the U.S. living with such injuries will ever recover meaningful function over their legs.
Part of the reason is that the central nervous system isn’t very effective at repairing itself, and the scarring that occurs after such an injury acts as a physical barrier to most regeneration.
In some cases, external electrical stimulation can help retrain basic functions in the hands, but also the legs in a therapy program. GNN has also reported on the use of triple nerve transplants, which allowed for an Australian quadriplegic to regain the use of his hands.
This new method uses an injection, but rather than injecting stem cells, proteins, or modified genes to try and program tissues to repair themselves, Stupp’s team used nanofibers, each just one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair, to mimic something called the extracellular matrix, which is a network of molecules surrounding cells. The fibers contain peptides, little bioactive molecules that transmit signals and promote nerve regeneration.
For the trial, published in Science journal, the mice that were paralyzed were given an injection of the fibers a day following their injury to simulate the time at which most spinal cord injury victims receive treatment.
RELATED: Paralyzed Patient Can Now Write as Fast as Smartphone By ‘Mindwriting’ With Brain Signals
After four weeks the mice could walk again, and those that had received a placebo shot could not. Afterwards, when their spinal cords were examined—it was found that the axons, the severed extensions of neurons which generally fail to repair under normal injury conditions—regenerated, and that the physical barrier of the scar tissue diminished significantly.
More ver, the layer of axons which form a protective insulation called myelin, reformed itself, as did oxygen carrying blood vessels, and more motor neurons survived.
Stupp and the rest of the research team hypothesized this was because the receptors in neurons are in constant motion, but so are nanofibers, and the result of which is that the overly-busy pairs connected more effectively.
LOOK: Northwestern Scientists Repair and Reverse ALS Neuron Damage in Lab Using New Non-Toxic Compound
Stupps is now looking to trial the work with humans because the nervous systems across animal species are very similar, and because there’s simply nothing else out there for helping people who have lost mobility due to spinal cord injury.
(WATCH the video for this story below.)
SHARE the Latest Research and Help Others in the Know…
Quote of the Day: “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” – Noam Chomsky
Photo: by Victor Malyushev
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A woman was so impressed by a pair of leggings after she tumbled ‘down a mountain’ that she posted an Amazon review that has gone viral.
Cory H. posted photos of herself sprawled on a rocky slope saying there was not even a hole in the pants after the accident.
Her photographic testimony spurred over 18,000 shoppers to mark her review as ‘helpful’.
The Amazon user enthusiastically left a five-star rating for the Raypose exercise leggings, which cost $13.99, encouraging others to ‘order them now’.
She wrote: “Can I just say that I will be reordering them in every color. Here is me rolling and sliding down a mountain because I was too scared to get up. My leggings did not rip not even a little bit and I got stuck on rocks and trees.”
WATCH: Daughter Can’t Stop Laughing About Her Mom’s Exercise Routine
Screenshots of the amusing review were posted on Twitter last week, racking up more than 400,000 likes.
“I think about this twice per week,” the tweet said.
In response, another reviewer posted her own photo of the leggings in action, mimicking the image in amusing fashion by laying sprawled on her own hill.
“Mountain sliding legging lady was right!” Kimberly, wrote.
POPULAR: Dad Hilariously Struggles to Keep Triplets From Climbing Furniture (Watch)
“These Raypose leggings off Amazon are exactly as good as the lady in the reviews says. Glad I bought five!”
SHARE the Laugh on Social Media—and the Leggings!
22 Dutch university students have completed an 1,800 mile road trip powered only by the sun, on a quest to show that sustainable vehicles can let you travel the world without harming the environment.
Enrolled in Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, the students say their van—named Stella Vita—is the world’s first solar powered mobile home.
With its solar panel roof, and wings that fold out with additional panels when parked, the team has doubled the solar surface to 17.5 square meters, which generates enough energy to live and drive on.
On a sunny day, Stella Vita, which is road legal and has a license plate, can travel up to 453 miles (730 km) within 24 hours and reach a speed of 75 miles per hour.
With a roof that pops up when stationary, you can stand inside while cooking.
Made for two people, it has a kitchen with a fridge, a seating area, bed, shower and toilet.
(See the video at the bottom.)
“Stella Vita is a self-sustaining house on wheels,” says their website. “Through solar panels on the roof, it is independent of charging stations.” But it does have an electric power charger in case of emergency.
The vehicle generates enough solar energy to drive, shower, watch TV, charge your laptop, and make coffee, says the team.
In one year, the students succeeded in designing and building the mobile home and last month completed their demonstration road trip from Eindhoven to the southern tip of Spain.
POPULAR: They’ve Designed a Livable Pontoon Boat Inspired by a Volkswagen Bus
The drivers and passengers can also track the amount energy used, and how much is remaining. News reports say that it has a 60 kilowatt-hour battery that allows it to travel 373 miles at night.
“On a cloudy day the vehicle can still produce 60-70% of the energy,” the team coordinator Dr. Carlo van der Weijer told The Guardian. “And even if there is no sun at all, you still have an efficient, normal electric car that you can charge from a charging port.”
This isn’t the first solar vehicle made by the team of University students and faculty that work under the name Solar Team Eindhoven, launched in 2012. In their first year, they pioneered the building of a solar powered family car called Stella.
Since then there have been 3 more vehicles before this pop-up van.
Stella and its successors Stella Lux, Stella Vie and the 5-seater Stella Era all raced in the World Solar Challenge in Australia and won in its Cruiser Class all four times it was held – in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Being the only competing “family car” with a license plate, the road registration of Stella cars contributed to the their winning score in the races.
Solar Team Eindhoven has set up a nonprofit foundation to promote their practical solar vehicle concepts for adoption on a broader scale.
LOOK: Aptera Solar-Powered Car With ‘1,000-Mile’ Range Gets 7,000 Preorders for Delivery in 2021
In 2017, some of the students responsible for the vehicles launched their own startup company to make a commercially viable version of the car, called Lightyear One, which was due to deliver the 4-passenger solar cars costing around $127,000 this year.
WATCH the Reuters video of the Stella Vita Euro road trip…
ROLL This Beauty Over to Your Traveling Buddies on Social Media…
During the pandemic, Karen Banfield decided to focus on the goodness around her, specifically the men who were showing up with a generosity of spirit and open hearts.
Her twelve favorites now make up a 2022 calendar called Good Guys.
“I focused on men because the news has been full of negative role models, and I believe having positive role models is essential,” she told GNN.
She photographed the twelve men in a natural environment and interviewed them, being sure to tell their stories in a way that conveyed their motivation for bringing kindness and goodwill into the world.
“These men, from diverse backgrounds, have touched many lives in small, often unnoticed, ways with compassion that made me smile—and just as often brought me to tears.”
Mr. September (Severo Lara) was a single dad with two young girls when he was elected Mayor of the town of Ojai, California, where Banfield lives. A humble man, he often rode his bike to events when others arrive in expensive cars.
Although serving the village and several organizations, he always put the needs of his family first—even halting his campaigning the moment his young daughter tugged on his shirt to tell him she was tired and wanted to go home.
Banfield recalls, “Years ago, when I was still performing, I needed to transport chairs late at night from the theater to a storage unit. Severo was the one who showed up in the rain, after he had worked all day, to help load, transport and unload the chairs.”
Mr. November (Ken Clench) first showed up on Banfield’s radar when he posted on a Facebook Community page offering free work to those in need. A month later, she arrived to a party, juggling food dishes, a gift, and a jacket in the driveway, when Ken swooped in, took the load from her arms and introduced himself with a smile.
“I asked about his donations of time and energy to the community and he said, ‘I’ve been going through a rough time, and keeping busy on my days off is the best medicine.’ A woodworker, Ken loves helping others. He built our little free library, and does other jobs in exchange for baked goods, dinner or conversation.”
A creative soul, when Ken joined Banfield’s Storytelling Class three years ago, he was nervous and full of fears and self-doubt, but his bravery, determination and willingness eclipsed all of that. In eight short weeks he was telling personal stories with confidence—and original music.
Mr. March (Snow Talifero) showed his generosity of spirit in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire, which nearly engulfed Ojai on its way to becoming the state’s largest-ever wildfire in 2017. The firefighter announced on the local community bulletin board that he would cut down dead trees for free, as a way to keep people safe.
Banfield said, “I thought about the need to get rid of that dead tree, but I’m a person with two afflictions: one the delusion that I am still capable of cutting down a tree at my advanced age, and two that I should do everything myself. So it was with trepidation and a little shame that I contacted Snow and asked for his service. He arrived the very next day, with his entire family in tow. They were going out to dinner, and in no time at all, he had cut the tree and readied it for removal.”
“It’s those little things that matter—those things that are easy for others, and almost impossible for me. I never forget a kindness, and value those who offer it with such grace and freedom.”
On the last page of the wall calendar, which Banfield is offering for sale, she invites readers to reflect on the Good Guys in their own lives, as a way to be grateful for the year ending in December, 2021.
To purchase the calendar, which measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches, visit her website (Click on the little credit card icons, if you don’t have a PayPal account.
The cost is $26.50 which covers shipping to anywhere in the U.S. If you need international shipping, you can email her at [email protected]. She also accepts Venmo or mailed checks for US shipping—but be sure to include your mailing address.
Karen Banfield: 25 Taormina Ln, Ojai, CA 93023.
HAIL These Good Guys on Your Social Media Wall By Sharing This Story Today…
Quote of the Day: “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” – Helen Keller
Photo: by Rowan Freeman
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced at the climate summit, COP 26 in Scotland, an expansion of the marine protections around the iconic Galápagos Islands by 23,000 square miles—nearly 15 million acres.
Lasso also announced the creation a protected swimway from Galápagos all the way to Costa Rica, an underwater superhighway refuge for a variety of endangered migratory animals such as scalloped hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, rays, sea turtles, and tuna.
The swimway will connect with Cocos Islands National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site off the coast of Costa Rica.
The new marine sanctuary expands the existing Galápagos Islands reserve by 45%, the equivalent of protecting a Lake Michigan-sized area of water—and there is already a fleet ready to police the area.
RELATED: Because Amazon Tribes Were Trusted, A True River Monster Was Saved
Industrial fishing has for decades harvested from this marine superhighway, and the new protection has galvanized members of the Galápagos Conservancy, a nonprofit which is the premiere protector of the endemic giant land tortoises they study and breed, but which also is active in marine conservation.
The news earned the Ecuadorian president a shout out from Hollywood eco-conscience Leonardo Di Caprio.
Congratulations to Ecuadorian President @LassoGuillermo on the creation of a new 23,166-square-mile Marine Protected Area near the Galápagos and the new debt swap to help manage it, announced today at #COP26. (📷: @shawnheinrichs) pic.twitter.com/Uj1vzJN2RE
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) November 1, 2021
“Galápagos Conservancy will continue to fund the Galápagos National Park’s patrol boats to keep industrial fishing out of these precious waters. What’s more, we have groundbreaking new marine projects well underway for 2022, including more grants focused on marine conservation than ever before,” the group said in a statement.
“We hope that this agreement between Ecuador and Costa Rica will serve as a model for multinational collaboration in marine conservation going forward.”
The announcement was hailed at COP-26 where, in other good news, 100 leaders from around the world pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030. More than 100 countries also signed a pledge to reduce their methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030—with the U.S. committing to a 50% reduction of the ultra-potent greenhouse gas by the end of the decade.
POPULAR: 20,000 Pounds of Trash Removed From Pacific Garbage Patch: ‘Holy mother of god. It worked!’
– Written with contributions from World At Large, a news website of nature, politics, science, health, and travel.
Don’t Forget to Share This With Your Ocean-Loving Friends on Social Media…
Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)
Here is your weekly horoscope…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week beginning November 12, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, “Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.” Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown that’s pregnant with possibility. It may bring abundance, not frustration. It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt. Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty: researching how unreasonable behavior affects the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend the award money “as irrationally as possible.” I propose we make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. Your irrational, nonrational, and trans-rational intuitions can fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical approaches of you and your allies.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“Neurotic” and “neurosis” are old-fashioned words. Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. Most of us are at least partly neurotic—that is to say, we don’t always adapt as well as we could to life’s constantly changing circumstances. We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destinies we’re capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight: “A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.” I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow habitual patterns, and uncover unknown secrets—thereby diminishing your neuroses.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Author Darin Stevenson wrote the following poetic declaration: “‘No one can give you the lightning-medicine,’ say the people who cannot give the lightning medicine.” How do you interpret his statement? Here’s what I think. “Lightning medicine” may be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans. It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives. I am bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming weeks. I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told there is no such thing as lightning medicine. (PS: “Lightning medicine” will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The superb fairywren gives its chicks lessons on how to sing when they are still inside their eggs. This is a useful metaphor for you in the coming months. Although you have not yet been entirely “born” into the next big plot twist of your hero’s journey, you are already learning what you’ll need to know once you do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious of these clues and cues from the future. Tune in to them at the edges of your awareness.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
For much of her life, Aries poet Mary Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins “grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber, and innocent lore.” But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you’ve held for a while—even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Actor Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they’d stay awake till 3 am as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers—as if, in Taylor’s words, “he’d given away or revealed too much of himself.” It would take a few days before he’d be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon. For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary. Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. There’ll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both your and their skittishness about it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
There are many different kinds of smiles. Four hundred muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the “affiliation smile,” as having the power to restore trust between two people. It’s soothing, respectful, and compassionate. I recommend you use it abundantly in the near future—along with other conciliatory behavior. You’re in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened by any other factor.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
According to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, “Night, to ancient people, was not an ‘absence of light’ or a negative darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the earth opens to moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters.” I bring these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we’re in the season when we are likely to be extra creative: as days grow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We regenerate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what Sjöö and Mor call “the great cosmic dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Your heart has its own brain: a “heart brain.” It’s composed of neurons similar to the neurons in your head’s brain. Your heart brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothalamus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala, and cerebral cortex. In this way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be extra strong in the coming weeks. That’s why I suggest you call on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in: enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invoking deep feelings, and transforming pain.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
How did naturalist Charles Darwin become a skillful thinker who changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: “He always gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm whatever cherished and hard-won theory he already had.” He loved to be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo. You could become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin’s rigorous approach to learning.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshimoto. She wrote, “Once you’ve recognized your own limits, you’ve raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you’re closer to the real you.” I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right—with an eager, open mind—it will be fun and interesting and empowering.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)
SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…
A photo taken by a bystander in Montana captured the touching scene of a firefighter reading a book to a little girl in the street, taking her mind off the trauma of their family’s car crash.
It was nighttime about a month ago when the Billings Fire Department responded to the two-vehicle accident, sirens blaring.
While the crews and the girl’s parents were busy with tow trucks and police reports, firefighter Ryan Benton took a book out of their fire engine and started reading to her on the curb.
“This allowed her to calm down and allowed the parents the ability to focus on getting some sense of normalcy back after a traumatic event like an accident,” said a fire department spokesperson.
“Sweetest thing ever!” wrote Allie Marie Schmalz on Facebook when she posted her photo of the 26-year-old fire fighter.
We’ve learned after news reports that the Billings fire responders always carry book bags to give to children in traumatic situations. The bags contain a stuffed animal, a book about firefighters, and other books that can soothe a young child’s mind.
Julie Angle later wrote on the Billings Firefighters Facebook page, saying how grateful she was for the compassionate practice.
LOOK: Firefighters Get Creative to Help Baby Raccoon With its Head Stuck in a Sewer Cover
“A few years ago we experienced the firefighters giving my kids stuffed animals after a fire. My girls remember that more than the fire. It was definitely something we will always be thankful for!”
WATCH the video from KTVQ News in Billings…
BRING Comfort to Your Friends By Sharing on Social Media…
News of Keanu Reeves’s thoughtfulness, as the latest John Wick film wrapped, proved once again that he is one of the best human beings in show business.
The film star’s acts of kindness and philanthropy have made national headlines at least a dozen times in recent years.
In 2019, Reeves was praised for helping two dozen fellow airline passengers reach their destinations after their plane was force to make an emergency landing in California far from its destination. He invited them aboard his own ride, then entertained them throughout the trip.
In 2018, reporters discovered that Reeves secretly has been anonymously pouring money into a charity for years.
Before the pandemic, he was photographed hopping out of his car so he could autograph a flattering handmade yard sign that was meant for the actor.
POPULAR: Fans Break into Keanu Reeves Property–But Instead of Calling Cops, He Invites Them in for Beer
The latest story of generosity came to light after Keanu invited his four stuntmen to dinner and gave them each an extravagant present as a bonus for their work on the franchise film, John Wick: Chapter 4, which is set to be released on May 27, 2022.
Jeremy Marinas, Dave Camarillo, Li Qiang, and Bruce Concepcion joined him for dinner in Paris on October 23 where they each got a new Rolex Submariner, a watch revered by divers for being waterproof to a depth of 1,000 feet.
One of the stuntmen, Jeremy Marinas, shared an Instagram photo of his watch, which retails for around $20,000, with the caption, “Best wrap gift ever.”
Each watch is engraved with “The John Wick Five,” along with a personalized message of appreciation.
RELATED: Michael J. Fox Raises $1.5 Billion to Help Find a Parkinson’s Cure: ‘I Won’t Stop Until It Happens’
Until the next episode in our Keanu Reeves love fest, we’ll choose the red pill, and ‘stay in wonderland.’
TAKE The Time to Praise This Celebrity Kindness By Sharing on Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
Photo: by Adam Walker
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
90% of Americans in a new survey have contributed to a charity and feel better about themselves when they actively give back.
In fact, those who do are almost twice as likely to say that they’re satisfied with their lives.
That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, conducted by OnePoll ahead of Giving Tuesday.
The poll revealed that most people think a ‘good deed’ is an action that makes someone else feel good, or something that benefits an individual—regardless if you personally know them or not.
Over half of respondents said that helping someone with a task, donating to someone in need, saying “good morning”, or even holding a door open for someone, are deeds that are likely to transform your own day.
In fact, according to nine out of 10, the best reward may be doing the deed itself.
RELATED: Six in 10 Americans Agreed They’re More Financially Confident Than They Were Before the Pandemic
The survey found that good deeds are rewarding because of hidden mental and physical health benefits, causing the people who perform them to feel happy (92%), relaxed (77%) and healthy (71%).
Three-quarters of those polled believed that if they do a good deed, the next person will pay it forward, according to the study commissioned by Walgreens.
Respondents donate an average of $168 during the rest of the year, with almost all reporting they donate more during the holiday season than at other times of the year.
On average, people donate an extra $404 during the holidays.
The vast majority of those who donate are more likely to focus their efforts on a local group rather than a national charity or organization (92%).
Two-thirds believe this will have a bigger impact, and three in five said it’s more trustworthy.
The spirit of giving inspires some to focus on holiday-specific causes, including charities that distribute toys to children in need.
Eight in 10 of those surveyed say they’re more likely to shop for a specific product—or at a particular store—when they believe it will benefit a cause they care about.
MOST REWARDING SMALL DEEDS
Helping a colleague, friend or family member with a task (61%)
Donating to someone in need (59%)
Saying “good morning” to someone (53%)
Holding a door open for someone (53%)
Giving a compliment to someone (52%)
Paying for someone’s meal (46%)
Buying someone a coffee (43%)
Helping someone carry their groceries (42%)
TOP 5 MOST POPULAR TYPES OF CHARITIES
Health (53%)
Human/Civil Rights (44%)
Animals/Wildlife (42%)
Education (41%)
Environmental (41%)
MORE: 56% of Americans Say They’re Happier in Autumn Than Any Other Season: The Top 20 Reasons
DON’T Keep This Charity to Yourself—Share the Inspiring Poll on Social Media…
When an emergency happens in the wilderness, quick thinking can often mean the difference between life and death.
After accidentally sliding down the face of a steep rock wall, two wayward tourists who recently found themselves stranded by the edge of a deep pool at the base of a thundering waterfall in British Columbia’s Golden Ears Provincial Park knew they were in a serious predicament.
Fortunately for them, five Sikh hikers who happened to be on the scene and witnessed their plight used not only their heads but also their hats—or more specifically, their turbans—to mount a pretty amazing rescue.
After taking stock of the situation, and with no cell phone service to call for outside assistance, the savvy group of international students struck on the idea of unwinding the long coils of their traditional headgear, and along with some added footage afforded by bits of their clothing, they managed to fashion a 33-foot lifeline with which they were eventually able to fish the stranded pair from their perilous perch.
“We were trying to think how we could get them out, but we didn’t know how to,” Kuljinder Kinda told NBC News. “So we walked for about 10 minutes to find help and then came up with the idea to tie our turbans together.”
RELATED: Quick-Thinking Teen Rushes to Save People Trapped In Burning Building, Inspired by Her Favorite Show
Once the two anonymous (and no doubt embarrassed, since the waterfall hazard was clearly marked) hikers were pulled to safety, park officials stepped in to assess their condition.
Five Surrey- based international students at Golden Ears provincial park in B.C., saved the lives of two hikers, who were stranded on the edge of a steep hill close to the falls. They used their turbans and clothes to make a rope & brought these hikers to safety. @PrabhjotKahlon pic.twitter.com/thN1LZWfCl
— OMNI Television (@OMNITelevision) October 20, 2021
As neither required medical treatment, they were released on their own recognizance—likely with a stern warning to better mind where they’re going next time.
Kinda and his four comrades, while more than pleased with their day’s work, were humble about their heroic exploits. It was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time and having the means to help, they said.
MORE: Lifeboat Volunteers Rushed From Crew Member’s Wedding to Rescue Six People in 7 Minutes
“In Sikhi, we are taught to help someone in any way we can with anything we have,” Kinda told NBC, “even our turban[s].”
Our takeaway? When danger strikes and a rescue rope’s not handy, first think fast—and then think “knot.”
RESCUE a Little Good News For Those News Feeds—Share This…
Students at a Tasmania high school are riding bikes out of desire to combat climate change, implementing a dizzyingly-thorough transformation of their school building into an energy efficient inspiration.
It’s paying off big time, as they’ve helped save $44,000 in utility bills since they started their energy-saving activities, but it’s also inspiring young people in the community to take action for the planet’s future on a local scale.
400 students attend Huonville High School in Australia, which recently won the Zayed Future Energy Prize of $133,000, some of which was used to renovate a building to serve as the Zayed Future Energy Hub; a clubhouse where 13 volunteers learn and teach about how renewable energy can be applied to our everyday lives.
Among the myriad of efficiency modifications, they installed solar panels on the roof, and replaced the old windows with double and triple glazed ones. They added improved insulation and energy efficient curtains.
They even have stationary bikes that create electricity to cook food, which in the case of a feature in ABC News Australia, were doughnuts.
The classroom was cold in the mornings, but the students wanted zero carbon emissions through their heating. So they went out and got a pellet stove, and then if that wasn’t enough, they went out and built a pellet mill to make their fuel from waste sawdust.
Powering one small building on a high school campus or cooking doughnuts in renewable fat fryers is nice, but will do little on their own to slow global climate change, but the Hub is much more about the big picture. Nel Smit, the volunteer teacher-head of the Hub knows their biggest contribution is exciting the minds of the next generation.
“This little school in the Huon Valley, is actually doing amazing things,” Smit told ABC. “It’s raised awareness of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and opportunities in the community for engaging them around that sort of technology.”
It’s not only the grown-ups that are excited about the project—now in its fifth year.
“Being part of Zayed has definitely helped me feel like I’m doing something. I’m making a change, and that has reassured me to not be so worried or frustrated with the world,” said Zayed Hub volunteer and student Aisha Fisher.
“Belief that it’s possible to stop it is the key, I believe,” said Christopher Allen, another Hub Volunteer. “We can act as young people, no matter your age, you have a voice and any action counts.”
(WATCH the ABC video about the Hub below.)
RENEW Your Social Feeds With This Story of Great Teens…
We often hear of “harnessing the power of nature” to generate electricity through renewables, but what if there were a way to harness the destructive forces of nature, not just the everyday ones?
That’s exactly what a Japanese energy start-up is doing as they look to build the first wind turbine that can withstand tropical storms, and capture that tremendous energy in typhoon-plagued countries where normal wind turbines need to shut down.
Japan endures 26 typhoons and lower-level storms per year on average, and partly for this reason wind energy capacity in the country remains very low.
Atsushi Shimizu, founder of Challenergy, has radically changed the look and function of the traditional mill-like wind turbine to allow it to generate power under extreme storm conditions.
The company’s “Magnus Wind Turbine” features large vertical blades spinning around a horizontal axis, which is the opposite of the long, pointed blades spinning from a vertical axis in normal wind turbines.
“One of our goals is to turn typhoons into a strength,” said Shimizu, who founded Challenergy in 2014 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster inspired him to get into the sustainable energy field.
“If we can just partially leverage the vast energy brought by typhoons, we can consider typhoons not just as disasters, but as a source of energy,” he told Reuters during an online demonstration of the turbines.
Challenergy’s first demonstration unit was built on the island of Batanes in the Philippines— a country of 7,600 islands that often have serious problems maintaining rural power grids, and is directly in the path of an average 16.8 typhoons annually.
The company’s turbine wasn’t erected long before its first major challenge hit: Typhoon Kiko, a Category 5 storm with winds greater than 154 mph (249 km/h)—and the second-strongest typhoon since 1987 to hit Batanes—arrived shortly after the unit was constructed.
MORE: This Wind Turbine Panel Lets You Harness Enough Energy to Power Your Home
The wind turbine started operating the day before the typhoon struck, and continued to operate normally until the early morning of September 11. It achieved the maximum power generation capacity, 11 kWh (net power), even under strong wind conditions.
At 6:00 AM local time, the wind turbine expectedly halted its operations as it reached its designed maximum allowable rotation speed, before the eye of the typhoon passed later that morning. After the typhoon regained its strength, it became difficult to obtain wind speed data due to the poor connection of the anemometer.
Though the demonstration unit experienced wind speeds that exceeded its designed maximum allowable speed, there were no major structural problems with the tower or support arms. The cylinder and the rectifying plate of one of the two wings, however, were partially damaged due to a collision with flying debris.
RELATED: World’s Largest Wind Turbine Manufacturer Says All Its Blades Will Soon be Fully Recycled
Challenergy says they are taking advantage of this first real-world test to implement countermeasures and make improvements so it can achieve stable operation during typhoons.
(WATCH the Reuters video about this story below.)
POWER UP Those Social Feeds With This Innovative News…
Quote of the Day: “Every moment is a golden one for the person who has the vision to recognize it.” – Henry Miller
Photo: by Nicole Giampietro
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
