Dear #Positivity Friends,

When our parents were kids, on top of all the reading, writing, and arithmetic they had to deal with at school; they had to walk a mile in the snow to get there. They also had to study civics and read Latin and memorize long, epic poems, among many other activities that are less and less familiar to us in the modern context.

Imagine this today: A kid standing up in front of his class to recite “The Charge of the Light Brigade” with soaring confidence. That’s just not going to happen anymore, is it? The world has changed. Priorities have changed about what is useful information for children to carry into the world as adults. Homework has almost become a thing of the past and now there’s AI. Don’t get me started!

Consider why those things were important to learn back then. They required time and focus and connected to other important concepts that called for real critical thinking. They forced the brain to sink into something dense and to care enough about it to get to the finish line. I think I would relish the luxury of spending time on activities like these—even today, when the Internet allows us to skip all the hard work and get to the answers in an instant.

Hey, school is now in session. How about we take a couple of quiet minutes every day this month to learn one simple thing. A new word. The story behind a song or painting you like. The species of the tree you look at from your office window every day. I think we’ll all find our heads and our hearts stretching gently with new information and questions and ideas. Let’s do this!

As always, I hope that you are enjoying my newsletter. If you miss any edition, you can find it on my website. Pass this newsletter along and encourage your family and friends to sign up.

With hope and positivity,

Do you want to get growing? Become a member of Neighborhood Farms USA® and you’ll get hot gardening tips from our master gardener, free design plans for indoor and outdoor gardens, and a monthly newsletter loaded with scoop about planting, growing, and harvesting your own food. Your membership will help support our mission to promote community gardening that supports health, wellness, and nutritional education in neighborhoods across the country. Go to the Neighborhood Farms USA website to join today!

#Positivity® Stories

Back to School

Any parent will tell you the cost of school supplies is onerous and many need assistance to get their kids everything they need. Young Reed Marcum is answering that call for help. This year, the Oklahoma State sophomore from McAlester, Oklahoma is giving out 6,000 book bags stuffed with school supplies to families in his community. As part of an annual 4-H service project, Marcum has been hosting the annual Back-to-School Book Bag Giveaway for almost a decade. Thousands of local families have benefited from his dedication over the years. Greg Owen, Pittsburg County 4-H Educator and Marcum’s mentor, sums it up: “Reed’s commitment to his community is inspiring. I am so proud to support his service projects and watch him grow.”

Doggy Appleseed

Much like the famous Johnny Appleseed, the dogs of the English town of Lewes are sowing seeds in their community. Knowing a dog’s instinct to run around the woods, dog walkers strap saddlebags filled with wildflower seeds on their charges and then let them loose to repair a local nature preserve damaged by foot traffic. The dogs’ actions mimic the way wolves roam the woods and get seeds caught in their fur that eventually drop off to germinate where they fall. The saddlebags contain both seeds and sand so that the members of the Railway Land Wildlife Trust can track the sand to see where the dogs have been. Dylan Walker, the Trust’s organizer of the project, says, “This not only helps engage and teach people about the ecological impact of wildlife but also allows us to make our wildlife and environments richer in the process.” Dogs just being dogs for the win!

Cleaning Up the Water

Researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom have developed a clever method to remove harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs from bodies of water. These “forever chemicals” are man-made compounds—substances found in everything from non-stick pans to paint, fabric, and more—that break down so slowly it can take over a thousand years for them to decompose. The resourceful blokes in Bath have invented a reusable lattice-shaped monolith that is 3-D printed out of ceramic indium oxide, and when dropped in the water, effectively removes 75% of PFAs within about three hours. Given that these harmful compounds have been linked to health problems including developmental disorders, heart disease, and increased risk of diabetes, these gizmos may become a vital tool for cleaning up water supplies around the globe.

NEW RELEASES!

FREE #Positivity^® Wallpapers Available Now!

As a thank you for being a member of our community, we're excited to offer exclusive access to our FREE #Positivity^® digital wallpaper.

Simply click the button below to enjoy this unique collection of backgrounds on your desktop, tablet or phone!

Get My Wallpaper

Tip of the Month

Start each day by distinguishing how you feel from what you need to accomplish. If you’re feeling crappy and you focus on that, that’s exactly how your day is going to go. If you choose to concentrate on the results you want from the day, then that crappy feeling will dissipate and you can direct your attention to what you need to do.

Check Out Our Web Series

Moshe is passionate about highlighting small businesses and what makes them unique, successful, and fun.

Make sure to subscribe to Moshe’s YouTube channel so you never miss a show.

Follow #MosheMeansBusiness on FB and Instagram for more tips!

Raising Good Humans by Hunter Clarke-Fields

Author Hunter Clarke-Fields teaches parents how to use mindfulness skills to handle stressful interactions with their kids. The benefits of responding thoughtfully are twofold—not only do you reduce friction in your relationship, but both you and your children become kinder, more understanding people by using respectful communications and effective conflict resolution. This essential guide will help you send your kids out into the world better equipped to be compassionate, problem-solving humans.

If you like our #Positivity® Newsletter...You’ll Love Our Podcast, Common Denominator. Each week, I have inspiring conversations with great thinkers.

New Episode! The 5 BIG Mistakes Parents Make with Dr. Mona Amin

Dr. Mona Amin is a board-certified pediatrician and the host of “PedsDocTalk,” one of the top parenting podcasts. She shares the five biggest mistakes parents make, discusses the merits of “No Blame, No Shame” parenting, and much more.

Listen Now

Catch up on previous episodes:

The Guide to Decluttering Your Mind and Becoming Elite with Tiffany Taylor
Secret Skills You NEED that No One Talks About with CIA Spy Andrew Bustamante
What Adam Mendler’s Learned from Interviewing America’s Top Leaders

Listen to Common Denominator on Your Favorite Podcast App & YouTube

Spreading #Positivity^®

Thank you, readers, for sending us your photos with your comments. We are so excited that you are helping spread a positive message everywhere you go! Let’s keep spreading #Positivity^® together! Send us your photos and stories to info@moshepopack.com and include your name and social media handle. We will feature them in the next newsletter and on Facebook!