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03/05/12
admin
· Positive News

The longer I wrote about positive news – or simply the concept of positivity – the more I realize the importance of gratitude. It can turn just about any situation around. The next time you’re steaming mad about something or someone, take a moment. What is good about your life right now? That person you’re so angry at – how have they contributed to your life? What small, incidental experience occurred today that made you smile inside? Maybe the bloom of a flower or a bird singing a cheerful tune? Maybe a wave from a neighbor that made you feel a little more connected to your community?

Write out your gratitude list. Write out your positive news. I know you may have heard this suggestion time and time again. But there’s a reason why: it works. It shifts your energy from the negative to the positive.

Because guess what? There are tons of things to be grateful for! I’m grateful to write for this blog, for instance. It has changed me on numerous levels.

Beth

Man Saves Kids in Frozen Pond

02/28/12
admin
· Positive News

Robert George said the ice has been thin this mild winter on the pond near his house off Third Lake, where children are normally able to skate and play hockey in a normal February.

But on Thursday, that ice gave way when four young people ventured out, and George was among the Mariner’s Cove residents who suddenly found themselves in rescue mode.

In fact, George ended up taking an unscheduled swim.

“I was working on the computer and my kids came in yelling that someone fell through the ice,” George said. “So I ran out, dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, and saw that two of them were out a ways and two others were closer, and there were some adults trying to throw them a rope.”

That rope just happened to be in the garage of Izabela Stepien, who also responded to the call for help.

“My neighbor was screaming that some kids were in the pond, so I went and grabbed the rope, which luckily was hanging in the garage. We use it during the summer for tubing,” Stepien said. “By the time we got out there, the smallest one was able to crawl out on his own, but we had to throw the rope to two of them and pull them out.”

Read more at ChicagoSunTimes.

Beth

What’s your Vent Hobby?

02/20/12
admin
· Positive News

In today’s high impact world, it’s important to have as many ways as possible to discharge accumulated anxiety and stress. The more you move it through your system, the less it lingers and causes mental and physical problems.

So what are some examples of “vent hobbies”?

Kickboxing
Running
Cooking (lots of chopping and dicing and slicing)
Sweeping (not exactly a hobby but cleans the house and your mind!)
Yard work
Singing (vocalizing is a type of screaming, which we all want to do sometimes)
Soul dancing (which means simply dancing in your own way, with the idea of release in mind.)

What other vent hobbies can you think of? It can pretty much apply to any hobby, as long as your intention is to purge accumulated stress, even knitting!

Beth

Positive Quote Wednesday – on Communication

02/15/12
thegreenchildrenfoundation
· Positive News

Ah, communication. Such an elusive concept at times, isn’t it? We know when we are communicating, but when we’re not, it’s not always that simple to fix it. One thing is sure: it’s very important. From interpersonal relationships to global peace, communication can make or break us.

Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn’t listening.
Emma Thompson

Art must unquestionably have a social value; that is, as a potential means of communication it must be addressed, and in comprehensible terms, to the understanding of mankind.
Rockwell Kent

As a whole, the managers today are different in temperament. Most have very good communication skills and are more understanding of the umpire’s job. That doesn’t mean they are better managers. It just means that I perceive today’s managers a bit differently.
Jim Evans

As soon as you judge communication a little more rigorously, there is a possibility that the message will not be democratized. I have to say what I believe to be right. I have to spread out the statement among all the means of expression available to us at present.
Alexander Kluge

Bad human communication leaves us less room to grow.
Rowan D. Williams

Beth

Positive Quote Wednesday – on Valentine’s Day

02/08/12
thegreenchildrenfoundation
· Positive News

When love is not madness, it is not love. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Loving is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. ~Albert Einstein

I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. ~Author Unknown

For you see, each day I love you more
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
~Rosemonde Gerard

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ~Author Unknown

Love – a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. ~Author Unknown

I claim there ain’t
Another Saint
As great as Valentine.
~Ogden Nash

Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever. ~Author Unknown

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.
~Author Unknown

You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover’s arms can only come later when you’re sure they won’t laugh if you trip. ~Jonathan Carroll, “Outside the Dog Museum”

We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness – and call it love – true love. ~Robert Fulghum, True Love

The Largest Living Roof 3 Years Later

01/31/12
admin
· Positive News

It’s been three years since the green roof was planted on Vancouver’s new convention centre.
Is it a success? Is it as good as they promised it would be?
The answer is that some parts are terrific — attractive, quality planting; a beautiful habitat for songbirds and insect life.
But other areas are untidy, scrubby, a bit of a mess; you might even say, an eyesore, and a fair ways from what they could or should be.

Overall, the roof is more a success than a flop, but there’s definitely room for improvement, so the designers should not spend too much time patting themselves on the back. There’s still some refining work to do.
Covering 2.4 hectares (just over six acres), it is still the largest living roof in Canada and the largest non-industrial green roof in North America.
But being 10 storeys above ground, you can’t see much of it from street level, say from outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim at Canada Place.
The roof is mostly visible to people working in adjacent highrise office blocks, such as the Shaw Tower, or living in luxury condos opposite.

Read more at the Vancouver Sun.

Beth

Worry-freedom – an Everyday Practice

01/23/12
admin
· Positive News

From Only Positive News writer Beth Mann:

I worry. More than I care to admit. Sometimes I don’t feel as if I have any control over it. But I do. (I mean, if I don’t, who does? The mailman?)

And it’s tough not to worry in today’s age. Our economy is hurting, our ecology is ailing and we’re disconnecting from one another, based on ever-growing need to be “connect” virtually.

I wanted to share with you a few techniques to stop worry in its tracks. Because I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live my life than worry about it!

1. Laugh. I can’t stress the importance of laughter as a worry-buster. A funny movie or a quick-witted friend can inspire those belly laughs that make you feel free and easy afterward. Can’t find anything funny? Fake it! Tests have proven that even fake laughter has therapeutic effects. Fake some laughter for 30 seconds and notice the difference.

2. Look skyward. Worry tends to make us think very small. We’re locked in a box. The simple solution: open it up by going outside. Look up into the sky and breathe. Take in the world around you and remember, you’re part of something greater. Go for a walk. When you return, check in with yourself. You’ll feel less stressed and more open-minded.

3. Write it out. This one is tough for people because we have trouble making time for it. But simply writing out your worries is a great tool that provides instant relief – so try to fit it in. This doesn’t have to be any masterpiece. On the contrary, purge. Let it all out on the paper in a big, unrecognizable blob. The idea is to simply put the inner chatter on paper, so you can close that notebook and leave the worries on the page.

Worry doesn’t just have to exist side-by-side with us. Don’t get use to it. No matter what the concern, the more you practice breaking free, the healthier and happier you’ll be.

Beth

New Year’s Solutions

01/19/12
thegreenchildrenfoundation
· Positive News

One way that we can cultivate belief in ourselves is by incrementally increasing how we challenge our self. We can do this by setting one small goal at a time, taking the neccessary steps to set ourselves up for success and then of course, by sticking with it. Once we reach our goal, it’s equally important that we take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate our achievements before putting our focus on something just a tiny bit bigger. This process builds our belief in self.

It’s important to also know that for a resolution to be successful, it must be lined up with what our subconscious really wants for us. When we try to go against the subconscious, it will always find a way to meet it’s own agenda.

Read more here.

Beth

From the Mouths of Babes

01/15/12
admin
· Positive News

I found this bittersweet video last night while surfing and wanted to share it with you. Riley, a young girl, talks about the limitations of marketing for little boys and girls…and hits home some pretty big truths.

I hope you enjoy it and happy Monday all!

Little Girl Gets Mad about Pink Toys

Beth

The Smiling Solution (with some Far Side thrown in)

12/20/11
thegreenchildrenfoundation
· Positive News

The Smiling Solution

And finally, if you want to feel happier, there’s a simple way to do it: Just smile.

In a 1988 study, researchers at the University of Mannheim in Germany had participants look at Far Side cartoon strips (see below) under two conditions: One group of people was asked to hold pencils between their teeth, which forced their mouths into smiles. The others held the pencils with just their lips, which produced a frowning expression. According to the results, the people who’d been forced to smile found the comics far more hilarious than the frowners did.

So if you want to boost your mood, just grin and bear it. Soon enough, your smile will be for real. Science says so.

Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things is available from Amazon.

Beth

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