Quote of the Day: “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” – Rumi
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?
How to Find Fulfillment in a World That is Obsessed With Happiness
The Lesson: In today’s society, happiness is often deemed as the most important aspect of your life, regardless of how it is achieved. However, in this intriguing TED Talk, a writer discusses why finding meaning in your life is more important than chasing happiness, and how there are four essential pillars to a meaningful life: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling.
Notable Excerpt: “Happiness comes and goes. But when life is really good and when things are really bad, having meaning gives you something to hold on to.”
The Speaker: Emily Esfahani Smith is an author and journalist who has graced the pages of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Time, The Atlantic, The New Criterion and many other publications. In addition to studying psychology and philosophy in school, her work has led her to interview thousands of neuroscientists, researchers, and behavioralists so that she can better explore how people can live more meaningful lives.
Books: Smith is the author of “The Power of Meaning”: a book that is dedicated to helping people find “fulfillment in a world that is obsessed with happiness”.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below) – Photo by Mayur Gala
Good Advice? SHARE It – Or Check Out More On Our Good Talks Page…
Company Takes Employees Nationwide on Odyssey of Gratitude, Donates Millions to Charities
It can be easy to take friends and family for granted on a day-to-day basis – but this company is aiming to spend the next two weeks inspiring an attitude of gratitude… starting with their employees.
In an emotional video that was released by Liberty Diversified International (LDI), a Minnesota-based manufacturer of packaging and business supplies, company employees were asked to write a letter to someone who they appreciated. Then, they were asked to call the person who they wrote about so they could read their affectionate words out loud.
One woman became tearful when she told her boss how much she appreciated her career and workplace; other people got understandably choked up from reading letters to their parents; and one woman even read a movingly symbolic letter to someone who had passed away.
By the end of the video, it seems that most of them were feeling the love.
WATCH: Man Takes Mom on Bucket List Adventure as Redemption for Unappreciative Younger Years
The social gesture was released as a means of starting LDI’s cross-country tour to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Company workers will be traveling through 17 cities over 19 days so they can spend millions of dollars on giving back to local communities.
The “Great Gratitude Tour” kicked off yesterday in New York City. At the finale event of the tour in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, LDI will attempt to set the Guinness World Record title for the most contributions to a greetings scroll in one hour. Employees and community members will be invited to sign their name and write their personal messages of gratitude on a long brown paper scroll. More than 1,000 signatures are needed to set the record.
“We’re lighting the torch for the next 100 years by working to inspire people across the country to share their gratitude, do good for others and get involved in their communities,” said Mike Fiterman, chairman of the LDI board. “We are a company born from gratitude. It’s a core part of who we are that continues to this day. As we honor our centennial year, it’s only fitting that we begin our Great Gratitude Tour in New York, the city that is the home to the symbol of freedom, hope and opportunity in America.”
(WATCH the tear-jerking video below)
LDI Gratitude from internal hosting on Vimeo.
Share The Emotional Footage With Your Own Beloved Friends And Family – Photo by LDI
How Technology Has Revolutionized Hair Loss Solutions
Sponsored Post
Hair loss can be an unfortunate fact of life for millions of people, and while some may come to terms with their loss of locks, others find it much harder to adjust.
As a result, hair loss treatments have remained in high demand and technological improvements now offer better choices. From less invasive technology used for hair implants, including U-FUE and 3D hair follicle technology, to the stunning realism of wigs, check out some examples of how technology is revolutionizing hair loss solutions.
Hair Transplants
Hair transplant innovations have continued through the years, especially with the introduction of Follicular Unit Extraction technology (FUE). FUE today is a big improvement over earlier follicular unit transplantation, which required taking entire strips of skin from the back of the head and cutting them into separate sections for replacement around the thinning areas of the head—a painful and scarring experience.
FUE, however, simply requires the harvesting of a single hair follicle—one at a time—from an area of healthy growth. The hair follicles are then relocated where they’re most needed, a useful option for receding hairlines. Scarring with FUE is minimal and in most cases, it’s completely painless. What’s more, the follicle is never out of the skin for long, which reduces the chance of damage to the follicle —a huge advantage.
DHI is the process of Direct Hair Implants through the use of a Choi Implanter Pen. This piece of equipment has helped reduce trauma to the scalp in countless patients, with minimal pain and better potential of a successful graft. It can take longer, but when don’t correctly, the results are worth the wait.
The Future of Transplants
3D Printing of hair transplants is relatively new, but the potential is huge for patients who may not have enough hair available for other methods. In theory, 3D printing would require a digital map of a person’s scalp in order to determine where the cells and components would need to be placed. Through precision printing, follicles could be printed for implantation using bio-ink. Bio-printing is already being tested, but is not ready for consumers yet.
Meanwhile, scientists at UCLA have successfully activated the body’s stem cells in order to stimulate hair growth. GNN reported that the eye-opening research is still in preclinical trials, untested on humans.
Hair Prosthetics
Wig technology has improved by leaps and bounds over the years with hair prosthetics being designed as custom-made wigs to specifically suit each individual patient.
Prosthetics come with countless measurements to ensure the hair is well-fitting and each piece is designed for comfort and protection from the elements. Patients who opt for hair prosthesis tend to have become bald due to a medical condition, and wish to regain the ability to protect themselves from the sun and keep warm in the winter. The material tends to be hypo-allergenic and soft to the touch for optimal comfort.
Hair loss can be devastating for many, but with today’s technology—and the promise of future developments—people have more and better options than ever before.
(Photo by Stephen Poff, CC license)
One Month After Med School, He Was the Only Doctor Aboard Overseas Flight to Save Woman’s Life
It’s been one month since Dean LaBarba graduated from medical school – but he wasn’t expecting to start his life-saving career so soon.
LaBarba, who had just finished at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, on a 12-hour flight from Zurich to Los Angeles with his wife last month when a female passenger sitting close to them said that she didn’t feel well. Before she could get up to use the restroom, she collapsed.
LBarba immediately rushed to the woman’s side only to find that she didn’t have a pulse. He tried massaging her sternum as a means of improving blood flow – but to no avail.
With the help of another passenger, he had the woman lie across a row of seats so he could begin chest compressions. After six pushes, she started to regain consciousness.
RELATED: Instead of Plane Making Emergency Landing, Engineer Fixes Medical Device Using Only a Pen
LaBarba, his wife, and the passenger were moved to first class where the newly-graduated doctor monitored her health.
“I remained at her side continually checking on her and asking if she felt any abdominal pain, chest pain, nausea or leg cramps,” LaBarba said. “It’s hard to say what happened in those 15 seconds after she collapsed, but I think she may have experienced a syncope episode.”
MORE: Husband’s Hunch Saves Woman Who Fell Asleep Watching TV
A syncope episode is when someone faints as a result of a drop in heart rate or blood pressure. Though the woman was shaken, she made it through the following 10 hours of the flight without any incident.
The passenger expressed her extreme gratitude towards LaBarba, who happened to be the only physician on board the 300-person flight that day. He says that the experience confirmed his “calling and desire to help people.”
LaBarba’s wife Ivy said: “I was so proud to the point of tears.”
Share The Inspiring Story With Your Friends – Photo by Loma Linda University
Two US States Have Become the First to Require Mental Health Education in School
New York and Virginia have become the first US states to enact laws that require mental health education in schools.
Both laws, which were passed on Sunday, do not specify exactly what kind of lessons or structure will be implemented in the curriculums, but legislators say that highlighting the importance of mental health has been long overdue.
The Virginia legislation mandates that mental health education only be added to the health curriculum for the first two years of high school, saying that “such health instruction shall incorporate standards that recognize the multiple dimensions of health by including mental health and the relationship of physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behavior that promote health, well-being, and human dignity.”
Sen. Robert Creigh Deeds (D) introduced the legislation for approval after it was developed and presented by a group of high school students.
RELATED: Most People Don’t Get Enough Vitamin D, But This App Can Fix That
“I was impressed by their thoughtfulness, because a lot of these young people had seen bullying. They had seen depression,” said Deeds, according to CNN. “It’s part of tearing down the stigma and providing some equality with those that struggle with mental health.”
The New York legislation is a little more aggressive. Penned in 2015, the bill requires mental health to be a part of the standard health curriculum for grades K through 12, effective immediately.
MORE: Suicide Rates at Japanese Train Stations Have Plummeted by 84% Thanks to Simple Solution
The New York bill reads: “It has been forty years since New York’s education laws first called for teaching about health matters in our schools. Over the years, state law has expanded to recognize that knowledge about specific public health concerns such as alcohol, drug, tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of certain cancers is critically important for students.
“Equally critical, but missing from current law and often the classroom, is the recognition that mental health is as important to health and wellbeing as physical health.”
Share The Progressive Step Forward With Your Friends – Representative photo by Oregon Secretary of State, CC
Heroic Puppy Saves Owner by Jumping in Front of Rattlesnake
While dogs are definitely man’s best friend, Todd the Golden Retriever is also this woman’s hero.
Paula Godwin had been out for a morning hike with her two dogs near her home in Anthem, Arizona earlier this week when she says she almost stepped on a rattlesnake.
Luckily for her, Todd was ready to protect his beloved human.
“My hero of a puppy Todd saved me,” Godwin wrote in a Facebook post. “He jumped right in front of my leg where I surely would have gotten bit.”
RELATED: Dog Waits With Missing 3-Year-old in Cornfield Overnight Until Help Arrives
The snake ended up biting the right side of Todd’s face and Godwin immediately rushed her pup to the Anthem Animal Hospital where he was treated with anti-venom.
Though the photos of Todd’s bite may look pretty shocking, Godwin said that “this is what a hero looks like.”
WATCH: Locked Out of House, Watch Woman’s Gleeful Reaction to Clever Pup Opening the Door
Fortunately, Godwin also says that Todd is going to be alright.
“Todd’s doing so well, [it] is a wonder to me how he is healing,” she wrote in a Facebook update.
It’s probably pretty safe to assume that the belly rubs and treats he is receiving as rewards for his bravery is helping the recovery process.
Share This Pawesome Story Of Canine Companionship With Your Friends – Photos by Paula Godwin
“But you know, the darkest hour Is always, always just before the dawn.” – David Crosby
Quote of the Day: “But you know, the darkest hour Is always, always just before the dawn.” – David Crosby, who joined Stills and Nash 50 years ago today (“Long Time Gone”)
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?
The Staggering Power of Vulnerability If You Can Overcome the Shame
The Lesson: In this inspiring Ted Talk, researcher-storyteller Dr. Brene Brown recounts her six year journey to understand the key to human connection: vulnerability. She found that vulnerability sits at a paradoxical balance between being the core of one’s struggle for worthiness and yet also the birthplace of true intimacy and belonging. Through equal parts humorous anecdotes and profound discoveries, Brown defines universal feelings in novel ways and reveals how to apply these teachings to lead a more connected life.
Notable Excerpt: “So very quickly — really about six weeks into this research — I ran into this unnamed thing that absolutely unraveled connection in a way that I didn’t understand or had never seen. And so I pulled back out of the research and thought, ‘I need to figure out what this is’. And it turned out to be shame. And shame is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection: Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won’t be worthy of connection? The things I can tell you about it – it’s universal; we all have it. The only people who don’t experience shame have no capacity for human empathy or connection. No one wants to talk about it, and the less you talk about it the more you have it. What underpinned this shame, this ‘I’m not good enough,’ — which we all know that feeling: ‘I’m not blank enough. I’m not thin enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, promoted enough.’ The thing that underpinned this was excruciating vulnerability, this idea of, in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen.”
The Speaker: Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. Brown has and continues to break down the complex topics concerning human nature such as shame, empathy, courage, and vulnerability. Her TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – garnered over 34 million views as one of the top five most viewed TED talks worldwide.
Books: Brown is the author of four #1 New York Times bestsellers – The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, and Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and The Courage to Stand Alone. Her new book, Dare to Lead: Bold Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts., is scheduled for publication in October 2018.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below)
Good Advice? SHARE It – Or Check Out More On Our Good Talks Page…
New Chance at Love for Woman Who Woke Up From Coma to Find She Has Second Husband
Imagine waking up from a deep sleep only to find that you have been in a long-term marriage with a man who you don’t know; that’s exactly what happened to Angela Hartung five years ago.
Angela had been crossing an intersection in New York City when she was hit by a car. After spending one month in a coma, she woke up with no recollection of the previous fifteen years of her life.
She thought that she was still married to her first husband, even though he had died some time ago. She thought that her kids were still young, even though they had both grown up into young adults. Additionally, she did not remember anything about her second husband Jeff.
Despite the heartache that came from being a stranger to his spouse, Jeff persisted against their strange circumstances. He lined the walls of their homes with photographs and happy memories – and then, he courted his own wife until she fell in love with him all over again.
LOOK: When Canine ‘Soulmates’ Can’t Be Kept Apart, Homeowners Relent and Work Together
And even though some people might disagree, Jeff believes the whole experience was a blessing in disguise.
“I honestly believe that this happened for a reason,” Jeff told CBS News. “How many times have we said, ‘I wish I could go back and do something over again?’ I’ve gotten to do that.”
To top off the emotional love story, Jeff and Angela got to renew their wedding vows in Central Park earlier this month.
(WATCH the video below or our international viewers can watch the heartwarming clip on the CBS News website)
Don’t Forget To Share This Tear-Jerker Of A Tale With Your Friends – Photo by CBS News
Scientists Capture First Ever Confirmed Image of a Planet Being Born
For the first time in history, scientists have captured a picture of a planet being born.
The international team of researchers made the robust detection of the young planet, named PDS 70b, cleaving a path through the planet-forming material surrounding a young star.
The team of astronomers which was led by a group at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, captured the spectacular snapshot of planetary formation around the young dwarf star PDS 70 by using the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) – one of the most powerful planet-hunting instruments in existence.
The SPHERE instrument also enabled the team to measure the brightness of the planet at different wavelengths, which allowed properties of its atmosphere to be deduced.
The planet stands out very clearly in the new observations, visible as a bright point to the right of the blackened centre of the image. It is located roughly three billion kilometers from the central star, roughly equivalent to the distance between Uranus and the Sun. The analysis shows that PDS 70b is a giant gas planet with a mass a few times that of Jupiter. The planet’s surface has a temperature of around 1000°C, making it much hotter than any planet in our own Solar System.
The dark region at the centre of the image is due to a coronagraph, a mask which blocks the blinding light of the central star and allows astronomers to detect its much fainter disc and planetary companion. Without this mask, the faint light from the planet would be utterly overwhelmed by the intense brightness of PDS 70.
“These discs around young stars are the birthplaces of planets, but so far only a handful of observations have detected hints of baby planets in them,” explains Miriam Keppler, who lead the team behind the discovery of PDS 70’s still-forming planet. “The problem is that until now, most of these planet candidates could just have been features in the disc.”
The discovery of PDS 70’s young companion is an exciting scientific result that has already merited further investigation. A second team, involving many of the same astronomers as the discovery team, including Keppler, has in the past months followed up the initial observations to investigate PDS 70’s fledgling planetary companion in more detail. They not only made the spectacularly clear image of the planet shown here, but were even able to obtain a spectrum of the planet. Analysis of this spectrum indicated that its atmosphere is cloudy.
PDS 70’s planetary companion has sculpted a transition disc – a protoplanetary disc with a giant “hole” in the centre. These inner gaps have been known about for decades and it has been speculated that they were produced by disc-planet interaction. Now we can see the planet for the first time.
MORE: High Schooler’s Experiment is So Good, It’s Going to Space
“Keppler’s results give us a new window onto the complex and poorly-understood early stages of planetary evolution,” comments André Müller, leader of the second team to investigate the young planet. “We needed to observe a planet in a young star’s disc to really understand the processes behind planet formation.” By determining the planet’s atmospheric and physical properties, the astronomers are able to test theoretical models of planet formation.
This glimpse of the dust-shrouded birth of a planet was only possible thanks to the impressive technological capabilities of ESO’s SPHERE instrument, which studies exoplanets and discs around nearby stars using a technique known as high-contrast imaging – a challenging feat.
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Even when blocking the light from a star with a coronagraph, SPHERE still has to use cleverly devised observing strategies and data processing techniques to filter out the signal of the faint planetary companions around bright young stars at multiple wavelengths and epochs.
Thomas Henning, director at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and leader of the teams, summarizes the scientific adventure: “After more than a decade of enormous efforts to build this high-tech machine, now SPHERE enables us to reap the harvest with the discovery of baby planets!”
Source: ESO
(WATCH the video below)
Be Sure And Share This Out-Of-This-World Story With Your Friends – Feature photo by ESO/A. Müller et al.
Three Young Men Become Heroes After Saving Blind Man Who Fell on Subway Tracks
Three young men – two of whom have not been identified – are being hailed as heroes after they saved a blind man who had fallen onto a set of subway tracks last week.
After witnessing the rescue on Thursday afternoon, Julie Caniglia wrote about the incident on Facebook.
According to Caniglia, she had been standing at the Broadview subway station in Toronto when she heard a sound that gave her “the fright of her life.”
“When my subway car pulled up … I heard a faint voice call out ‘help, help me please’,” writes Caniglia. “It wasn’t coming from anyone in the car and after hearing it again I stood up and looked out on the platform.
WATCH: Police Officer Handles a Crisis With Toddler Wandering On the Side of Highway
“Suddenly, and all very quickly, [I] … saw a man with a walking cane lying on the tracks.”
The man was blind, and he had fallen onto the rails below. Thankfully, three bystanders leapt into action.
Without hesitation, 24-year-old Kyle Busquine jumped onto the tracks and – with the help of two other men on the platform – they were able to hoist the blind man to safety.
WATCH: ‘Coolest Bus Driver Ever’ Halts Pedestrian Accident in London
“We were all just in shock looking at him, hoping and praying a train wouldn’t come,” Caniglia told CBC News. “It was probably all within less than a minute but it seemed like hours.
“Knowing that the worst thing possible could happen and it was out of everyone’s control was really just the most frightening thing I’ve ever seen,” she added.
Though the other two men have not come forward, Busquine says that he wouldn’t have been able to rescue the endangered commuter without their help.
Paramedics reportedly escorted the injured man to the hospital so he could be treated for his minor injuries.
Save Your Friends From Negativity And Share The Inspiring Story – Photo by Julie Caniglia
Town’s Compassionate Approach Cuts Rates of Overdose by More Than Half – State to Adopt It
For years, the city of Huntington, West Virginia experienced a steady climb in drug overdoses. When it finally came to a tee in 2014, the town launched a compassion-based outreach program that has cut the rate of overdoses by more than half in less than one year.
The Quick Response Team (QRT) is a rotating group of paramedics, mental health specialists, and police officers who check up on overdose survivors within 72 hours of their overdose.
The team has found that when addicts and troubled patients are visited by city officials who express concern over their predicament, they are more likely to get better and seek treatment because they feel that someone cares.
“[First responders] are having people say to them, ‘This is the first time that someone has cared enough to come and do this, you’ve saved my life, thank you,’” healthcare worker Karen Yost told the Christian Science Monitor. “Now they’re beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
RELATED: 14 Years After Decriminalizing Heroin, Here’s What Portugal Looks Like
The program has had such a stunning effect on the city, that the state recently approved a bipartisan bill to implement the initiative in a four-year pilot program across West Virginia.
Huntington officials hope that their treatment model will soon be implemented across the country as well.
“If we find a way to be able to defeat this here,” Mayor Steve Williams told the CSM, “then that becomes a standard that can be utilized certainly throughout the rest of the state, but I believe that it [also] becomes a standard that the rest of the nation will be able to follow.”
Cure Your Friends Of Negativity And Share The Good News – Representative photo by Airman 1st Class Emerald Ralston / U.S. Air Force
Young Boy Sells All His Toys to Care for a Service Dog Who Helped Save His Life
A 10-year-old boy is going above and beyond to save the dog who has spent the last four years looking after him.
Copper the Doberman is Connor Jayne’s service and emotional support dog. In December 2017, the pup developed a limp, which turned out to be Wobbler’s disease.
Diagnosing and treating Wobbler’s disease is expensive – but when Connor heard that his furry companion needed help, he cleaned out his entire toy room to host a garage sale and help pay for the treatment. The youngster even sold lemonade and treats to make a few extra bucks.
“He went and cleaned out his entire playroom because that’s what he wanted,” Connor’s mom Jennifer told Inside Edition. “He is that type of kid.”
RELATED: Dog Waits With Missing 3-Year-old in Cornfield Overnight Until Help Arrives
“He said the dog was more important than any toys,” she added.
This is not the first time that Copper and Connor have been there for each other, either. Connor struggles with PTSD, anxiety, and chronic headache disorder. He has also been diagnosed with nocturnal seizures as a result of Copper’s watchful eye.
Two years ago, Jennifer was awoken by the sound of Copper barking outside of the boy’s bedroom, insisting that she open the door. When she finally went in to check on her son, she found that he was having a nocturnal seizure.
WATCH: Persistent Elephant Stops at Nothing to Summon Busy Caretaker to Get a Lullaby For her Baby
“Nothing had shown up on any of his studies or neurological reports as nocturnal seizures are the hardest to diagnose,” says Jayne. “It happened again a few weeks later and I was able to catch it on camera to show the neurologist and get my son on the proper medication.
“He is completely managed for seizures at this time thanks to our protector and faithful companion.”
Additionally, Copper helps Connor with his anxiety attacks by lying on top of the boy like a weighted blanket.
Since the family started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Copper’s treatment, the page has surged past its original goal and raised almost $18,000 – so it might be pretty safe to say that Copper has a good fighting chance for the future, thanks to his adoring family and fans.
Share This Pawesome Story Of Friendship With Your Own Companions – Photos by Jennifer Jayne
“Age considers; youth ventures.” – Rabindranath Tagore
Quote of the Day: “Age considers; youth ventures.” – Rabindranath Tagore
Photo: by cobalt123, CC license
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?
German 12-Year-old Boy Plants 1Million Trees, Takes Over UN Program to Plant a Trillion More
The world is a lot greener thanks to this 20-year-old and his army of “climate ambassadors” who have pledged to plant trees and use youth power to avert climate change.
Ever since he was 9 years old, Felix Finkbeiner has been an international figurehead for saving the planet. In 2007, the German youngster founded a global youth movement called “Plant for the Planet” – an initiative that trains and recruits kids from around the world to plant trees as a means of combatting climate change.
Since its creation, the movement has already made significant progress with the help of over 100,000 enthusiastic youth between the ages of 9 and 12—and he planted his one-millionth tree in Germany when he was just twelve. Alongside the Paris Agreement, Finkbeiner’s campaign is a formidable defense of the planet.
His speeches as a pre-teen to the European Parliament and the United Nations General Assembly inspired kids from over 90 countries to join his coalition, saying “Forests are not only the livelihood of billions, but for us children forests are our future.”
The UN then handed over to Felix the leadership of its Billion Tree Program, which was inspired by the Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Wangari Maathai, whose Green Belt Movement planted 30 million trees in Africa. He is enlarging the program, transforming it into a Trillion Tree Campaign: an audacious international grassroots effort to do exactly that – plant one trillion trees in the next 30 years.
Just for some perspective, there are currently about 3 trillion trees alive in the world today – so planting a trillion more would be an incredible increase. That’s roughly 150 trees for every person on Earth, according to National Geographic.
“Children could plant 1 million trees in every country on earth and offset CO2 emissions all on their own, while adults are still talking about doing it,” said Finkbeiner. His motto, “Stop talking, start planting,” suggests the same sentiment.
The campaign is working in collaboration with organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society to meet the ambitious goal. The Campeche province of Mexico is already a staging ground for Finkbeiner’s no-nonsense motto. Plant for the Planet recently bought 33,300 acres (13,500 hectares) in the area and they plan to plant 10 million trees by 2020.
RELATED: Why We Should Practice Forest Bathing and How to Get the Benefits of ‘Forest Medicine’
Other countries’ have their own plans for reforestation too. One province in Pakistan has planted 1 billion trees; China is creating forests as big as Ireland; a group of African countries (Ethiopia, Niger, Mali, etc.) are reforesting degraded land; India recently smashed the world record for planting the most amount of trees in a day; and Latin American nations are signing on to reforestation efforts in the Amazon, as well.
All of these combined initiatives offer great hope for the planet, but organizations aside, Finkbeiner is a textbook example of what we can all do on an individual level to save the planet if we just stop talking and start planting.
Plant Some Positivity With Your Friends And Share The Good News – Photo by Felix Finkbeiner
Humble Bus Driver Who’s Learned From Past Mistakes is Hailed for Saving Frantic Mom on Vacation (podcast)
A Boston shuttle bus driver is being hailed for an extraordinary act of kindness—doing something he never would have done in earlier days. Hear The Good News Guru tell the inspiring story (from the June 29, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio).
WATCH the video, or read the full story, on Good News Network…
(Image from WBZ-Boston video)
Humble Bus Driver Learned From Past Mistakes and Saves Frantic Mom on Vacation
LISTEN to this Good News Guru story here, which was broadcast on the radio June 29th with Ellen K and Geri on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)
A Boston shuttle bus driver is being hailed for an extraordinary act of kindness—doing something he never would have done in earlier days.
Mark Trocchio hopped off of his shuttle bus on Monday to get a cup of coffee at a Dunkin’ Donuts in nearby Cambridge. Before he walked into the store, however, he spotted a purse that had been left on the sidewalk.
He rifled through its contents in search of the owner’s identification when he was stunned by what he found inside. In addition to the credit cards and airline tickets, he found $8,000 in cash.
RELATED: Delivery Man Goes Above and Beyond With a Simple Box to Make Boy’s Dream Come True
According to Trocchio, there was a time in his life when he would have easily taken the money and not looked back. The former Marine spent 17 years in an unending battle with alcohol and drug addiction. But, what he did next revealed his true character.
He went inside the shop hoping to possibly find the purse’s owner. Inside, he saw a mother weeping and being consoled by her two teenage children. Recognizing her from the ID in the wallet, he called out her name and handed it back.
The emotional woman tried to reward him as he was ordering his coffee, but Trocchio turned it down and headed back to his shuttle.
LOOK: Police Officer Stands in the Pouring Rain With a Smile as She Protects Critter From Traffic
Before he drove away, she noted the name of the bus company—Transaction Corporate Shuttles—and called his employers to report the good deed.
The grateful mother named Tina told them that she, herself, was originally from Boston before moving to Georgia to raise her children. She had spent years saving up money so she could one day bring her kids to New England and show them her beloved hometown.
If Mark Trocchio had not returned the purse, the long overdue vacation would have ended in hardship, but she also realized that his act of service was a perfect example of why she adores the city to this day.
(WATCH the video below—or our international viewers can watch it on the CBS News website)
Share This Sweet Story Of Compassion With Your Friends – Photo by WBZ-TV
Watch the Heroic Pup Who’s Been Trained to Perform CPR on Police Officers!
We’ve rarely seen a cuter hero than Poncho the pup.
Poncho is a police dog who has been trained to perform CPR on officers who may be experiencing symptoms of cardiac arrest.
Poncho’s employers, the Municipal Police of Madrid, recently uploaded a video of their furry companion completing a training round of CPR with one of their officers who was imitating a medical emergency.
RELATED: Dog Waits With Missing 3-Year-old in Cornfield Overnight Until Help Arrives
Seconds after the officer ‘collapses’, Poncho bounds onto the scene and starts conducting chest compressions by bouncing his weight on the man’s torso. Then, the little canine rests his muzzle on the officer’s neck so he can check for a pulse.
After a few more rounds of compressions, the officer finally “revives” himself and gives Poncho a well-deserved treat.
The police department ended the caption of their video by using an apt quotation from John Billings, saying: “The dog is the only being in the world that will love you more than you love yourself.”
(WATCH the video below)
"Heroica" actuación de nuestro #Compañerosde4Patas Poncho, que no dudó ni un instante en "salvar la vida" del agente, practicando la #RCP de una manera magistral.
— Policía de Madrid (@policiademadrid) June 22, 2018
El perro es el único ser en el mundo que te amará más de lo que se ama a sí mismo- John Billings#Adopta pic.twitter.com/yeoEwPkbRc
Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Video With Your Friends – Photo by Municipal Police of Madrid
Basement Inventor Uses Long-buried Device to Help Neighbor Breathe During Power Outage
When a storm knocked out power in this Iowa town, Harold McClure might have been in dire straits had it not been for his inventive neighbor.
McClure’s health issues requires him to be hooked up to oxygen tanks 24 hours a day, but when his house lost electricity earlier this week, his tanks only had enough power to last for a few hours.
Luckily, his neighbor, Joe Gazelle, is a tinkerer.
RELATED: Doctors on a Plane Save Woman’s Life by Constructing Makeshift Ventilator Out of Nearby Parts
A few years ago, Gazelle had created a contraption that generated electricity when attached to a lawnmower. After being untouched for almost half of a decade, the inventor dug out the device and started it up.
It ran like a charm, providing emergency power for a neighbor in need.
“It sat for the last four and a half, five years and hadn’t been ran. And to my surprise, as I was hoping it would, it performed just like it did when we developed our prototypes years ago,” Gazelle told WHO-TV. “It’s sitting there running right now, and getting the oxygen bottles filled back up for him.”
Gazelle’s device was able to power McClure’s oxygen tanks until lights were restored in their Indianola neighborhood.
(WATCH the interview below)
Power Up Your Friends With Positivity: Share The Good News – Photo by WHO-TV