Loneliness has been linked to numerous health hazards, including: high blood pressure, obesity, sleep
dysfunction, depression, compromised immunity and Alzheimer’s disease and increased risk for cancer. A study published in the 2009 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
found that loneliness, like happiness, can spread through our social networks.
The Elders Update
Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari has joined The Elders, replacing Muhammud Yunus who has stepped down due to the demands of his work. According to Mr. Ahtisaari, "Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and it is
intolerable that violent conflicts defy resolution for decades, causing
immeasurable human suffering.
Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2008 for his efforts on several continents and for more than 3 decades to resolve international conflicts.
AVATAR: Activism through Fiction
By Lauren Selman | Bio
“Sarah…just saw Avatar, it was great!” “Mark…wants you to see Avatar!” The facebook status updates of my friends keep pouring in. Not interested in another blockbuster blow-em-up movie, I looked to my various communities to see what people think and sure enough the reviews are there too. Young and old, Democrat or Republican, Eco-Conscious and Eco-Hating, the status updates had a clear message, to see Avatar.
Okay, fine! I’ll see it. I had been told it was an
Different Beliefs: East vs West
Enjoy this 18-minute TED talk with Devdutt Pattanaik on understanding how our different viewpoints of life and the world contribute to the clash of civilizations and have us misunderstand each other.
Top 5 Green Documentaries of 2009
Looking for a worthwhile film to watch? Learn more about our current environmental reality by viewing these documentaries.
Moods
By Jim Selman | Bio
Moods ‘color’ our experience of living. They are all encompassing interpretations of the world—especially the future—and tend to determine the quality of our lives. When we are in a positive mood, the world is bright and we ‘feel’ great. When we are in a negative mood, we typically want to withdraw from or strike out at everyone around us. One of the most useful things we can learn as we grow up (at any age) is that moods aren’t personal.First of all, they are involuntary. No one I know decides they will be in a bad mood (although there are a few who more or less equate their mood with ‘the way I am’, which can become a kind of self-fulfilling story and can justify just about anything). For example, I know a man who believes that he is, more or less, permanently doomed to procrastinate and put off what he knows he needs to do until the last minute. He then begins to become annoyed with himself weeks before
Toward a Brighter Future
It’s easy to get involved in the fight against climate change. You can start by measuring your climate impact and then managing your environmental footprint. Brighter Planet allows you to watch your carbon footprint with an online tool assessment that prompts you to answer questions, and a sophisticated emissions model tells you what your footprint is. You can watch it change over time as you learn to live a more carbon-free life.
Is Peace Enough?
By Shae Hadden
In every moment, all possibilities are happening:
- birth, rebirth, death
- love, fear
- war, peace
- compassion, hate
- trust, distrust
- harmony, conflict
- poverty, wealth
- starvation, obesity
- disease, health
- beauty, toxic waste
- wisdom, folly
- youth, adulthood, elderhood
- creation, destruction
And so on….
Opposing forces are constantly in dynamic motion, striving for balance and harmony.
When 99.99% of human beings all desire the same things (to live peacefully, feed their families and enjoy life’s abundance), it is no longer enough for us to simply strive for peace.
In these challenging times, we need to transform the entire dance of creation and destruction.
More later on why peace may not be enough….
Creating Home in the Nursing Home
The Pioneer Network, in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will be hosting Creating Home in the Nursing Home, a one-day symposium, on February 11th in Baltimore. This second national symposium on culture change will focus on Food and Dining Requirements and will feature a keynote by Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Recommendations
Newsmakers of 2009