In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it's easy to get caught up in our routines and overlook the beauty that surrounds us. Yet, within our daily lives lies a profound potential for awe—an emotion that can inspire, uplift, and enrich our existence. Awe is not...

Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components, which he describes in a Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude Is Good.” “First,” he writes, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are...

The question I’m asked most often is: How’d you do it? How’d you scale two chain-link fences at animal control, cross a busy highway in the middle of the night and find your way into a nursing home a quarter mile away? Let’s just say I was born to jump. And I’ve...

4 lessons I learned about happiness (Here are #3 and #4) In February 2024, I returned home to Los Angeles after the adventure of a lifetime: exploring 18 countries across South America and Asia in 18 months on a trip that cost me $34,000. I had quit my dream job as a...

4 lessons I learned about happiness (Here are #1 and #2) In February 2024, I returned home to Los Angeles after the adventure of a lifetime: exploring 18 countries across South America and Asia in 18 months on a trip that cost me $34,000. I had quit my dream job as a...

A Metro Transit bus driver from Minnesota gave a whole new meaning to going the extra mile on Friday when she literally gave the shoes off her feet to help one of her passengers. Known for her cheerful demeanor, Jayne Verhelst, has earned the nickname "the happy...

Nearly two months after launch and almost 50 days after they were initially supposed to return to Earth, two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station finally appear to be closer to their homeward voyage. That they were trapped by troubles with their Boeing...

A swarm of dragonflies stunned and surprised beachgoers last weekend in Rhode Island. Thousands of the dragonflies, relatively large and often beautifully colored insects, descended on Misquamicut beach last Saturday. Video of the dragonflies shows beachgoers running...

In January, Uber driver Danny Blanton, 51, picked up passenger John Johnson, 60, for a ride to Dallas’ UT Southwestern Medical Center. Blanton, who didn’t see the picture of his passenger ahead of time, kept his eyes mostly on the road, making small talk as the car...

In the same way that more than 80 percent of people surveyed think they are above-average drivers, and fewer than 1 percent consider themselves "worse than average" (each a mathematical impossibility), I like to think I'm smart. Not extremely smart. Not super smart....