Ideas and tips to get along and get stuff done-------- -- November 9, 2021
Benefits of Giving
Giving isn’t just for fun, it can be life-saving.
Giving to others is the bedrock of step 12; the part of all 12-step recovery programs that says you gotta give to others as a strategy to save yourself. It’s a practical matter.
How many movies have we seen where — at death’s door — someone’s will to live comes from their need to give something to someone else?
Stuck in a rut? Find a person or project to give to. At the very least it will be a distraction and might get you out of your own way.
The research is clear. Giving money to another person is more likely to lift your spirits than spending money on yourself. See Money spent on others can buy happiness in the Harvard Gazette.
This New York Times article — Spend More on Society and Get More for Yourself — explains that American individualism has made individuals unhappy and, too frequently, sick. Another social research study finds that when people give to charities it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, creating a “warm glow” effect. See the Jorge Moll and colleagues paper at the National Institutes of Health website.
What should be the role of secondary education in America? What skills should high school students in America have? How much local control should schools have? Should high schools teach morality? Which morality? ....and more.
This Make Shift Coffee House is will be moderated by Craig Freshley. A Make Shift Coffee House is not a debate. We are not trying to change minds. Rather our purpose is simply to understand each other's points of view.
We see the statistics: that millions of Americans are in desperate poverty, especially children. Yet many of us don't SEE it, even when it's in plain sight.
In a remarkably real way, this film tells an age-old story of a mom and her kid just trying to get through and keep fed. It's a story being played out a million times across America right now.
Addressing the cycle of generational poverty in rural Maine
The Aspirations Incubator Project at Bryant Pond 4H Camp and Learning Center gets kids outside and helps raise their aspirations and build their confidence.
In the video Ryder Scott, Statewide Director of Maine's 4H Camps and Learning Centers, explains the value of each child having an adult in their life who cares about them.
