Build Your Shell Before the Alligator Eats You

Credit: Patrick Castleberry

American wildlife photographer Patrick Castleberry caught this amazing image of a turtle withstanding an alligator attack.  The turtle's shell is made of bone and gives these ancient reptiles  an evolutionary advantage.

But did this lucky turtle grow his shell hastily as the gator was closing in?  Of course not.  The turtle's hard covering developed over time, rendering him  strong and ready when the predator struck.

Same with our core strength--our  'resilience muscles'.  There are simple things we can do today--before the alligators are lurking--to ensure we'll be strong and ready when 'life happens', when the alligators pounce.

Happy News Helps us Embrace the Triumph of the Human Spirit.

 "The fastest route back to ordinary life is paved by extraordinary kindness" -- Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine 

Post-Boston, the world seems united in their resolve to focus on what's good, to get back to business.   In post 9-11 parlance, not to 'let the terrorists--whether domestic or international- win".  This short clip  from Colbert mixes humor and earnestness to say the same.

"They attacked the Boston Marathon. An event celebrating people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw -- for fun. ...there were runners who, after finishing a marathon, kept running for another two miles to the hospital to donate blood.So here's what I know. These maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston, but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are."

Even so, one risks getting lost in endlessly looped images and speculation.  The defeat of post-Newtown gun-safety laws and an explosion in Waco came in quick succession.  A hum of anxiety crosses the country. Sometimes it's best to turn off the news.   Stretch.  Breathe.  Move.  Laugh.  Connect.  Focus on the belly fluff of this anonymous kitten. Feel the resilient thump-thump-thump of his fragile little  heart.  And these tips on Psychological Preparation for Natural Disasters from the Australian Psychological Society will help manage stress from man-made catastrophes as well.

Triumph of the Human Spirit

 Ultimately, resilience lies in willfully turning our eyes toward what's good and beautiful and possible in the world.  That's why we update the 'Happy News" link on this site with stories of  innovation and hope. Of overcoming adversity.  Because-- especially on the bad days--it helps to embrace the triumph of the human spirit.  Some days it's the only choice which makes sense. 

Click on the Happy News link above for more stories of helpers, hope & innovation.

Browse the World Gratitude Map  for more  reasons to be glad.

When We See the Helpers--We Know There's Hope

"If You Look for the Helpers You Will  Know There is Hope" --Fred Rogers

Mr. Roger's mother had it right: "When I was a boy and would see scary hings in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”  

At times like these it is  essential to keep our eyes on all that  is Good & Beautiful & Possible in the World.  Mr. Rogers advises us how to talk to children who feel confused and unsafe after public tragedies such as the Boston Marathon explosions.  Yet it's not just children who feel confused and unsafe these days. Some tragedies are so great, some evil so dark, that the only sane response is stunned silence, an acknowledgement that, for the moment, the universe is out of balance,  evil has triumphed, and the 'bad guys' have won. 

Yet a key component of resilience is our ability, even in the midst of the unfathomable, to focus on what works, what's right, what makes it better. Case in point: Six Amazing Ways People Helped After Boston Marathon Tragedy

As we wrote after Newtown: "After we have cried and prayed and lamented and mourned, it is time to again focus on all that is good, and beautiful, and possible in this world.  Because it is there, all around us.  We only need look for it."  When we see the helpers, we know there's hope.

Click on the Happy News link above for more stories of helpers, hope & innovation.
Browse the World Gratitude Map  for more  reasons to be glad.

Happy Resilience Day! Spring Bounces Back

The March 20th vernal equinox heralds Spring in the Northern hemisphere   We deem this Resilience Day. What better time to celebrate the Science of Bouncing Back?  Bulbs pushing up through snow.  Buds sprout on seemingly dead limbs.  Winter yields to green promise.

Nature's resilience renders human resilience puny by comparison.  Even amid horrific natural and man made calamity, nature bounces back.  25 years ago a nuclear accident rendered Chernobyl  poisoned, uninhabitable. Yet Sergei Gaschak’s photographs inside 'the zone' today show thriving wildlife and greenery. 

An explosive volcano left Mt. Saint Helen a moonscape of ash and death This audio slide show just 30 years later reveals a revitalized mountain awash in green.  Time-lapsed NASA Landsat satellite footage shows nature's resilience. 

Ginkgo trees even survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan to flourish today: The plaque at Josei-ji temple 1420 meters from the blast. reads : This ginkgo withstood the atomic bombing on August 6th 1945. When the new hall was constructed in 1981, the tree was preserved by building the staircase around it.

And just how does nature bounce back? The same way we do: one step at a time. Did you ever watch a tree grow? One can't, not really. The actual progress is unobservable, infinitesimal, steady.It's growth can only be measured by time.  And so it is with us.  Each challenge overcome. Each exercise of willpower.  Every healthy choice. . Each positive thought or expression of gratitude makes us stronger. More flexible.  Resilient..  Able to endure our own winters, volcanoes and personal holocausts.   

Credit:Laura van Assendelft 

Happy First Day of Spring.  Happy Resilience Day. Cause it's not what happens to us. It's how we bounce back that counts.

Click on the Happy News link above for more stories of helpers, hope & innovation.

Browse the World Gratitude Map  for more  reasons to be glad.

World Gratitude Map on Alice FM Springfield

Johnny Molson believes that people are fundamentally decent, it's just that 'the bad people tend to be louder'. In this interview he explores how the World Gratitude Map helps amplify the good.


Publish Post

South Africa Loves the World Gratitude Map, Too

Our World Gratitude Map's been accessed by folk from 80 countries across 6 continents. That's a lot of gratitude! Warm thanks to Michelle Constant of SAfm Radio for giving us a chance to chat about our crowd-source project    Next up: Wednesday February 20, 2013 visit with Johnny Molson on AliceFM Morning Show in Springfield, Illinois.