When my grandmother died, I inherited her garden journal. Fifty years of meticulous notes about what she planted, what thrived and what failed. The first pages contained carefully recorded temperatures, rainfall amounts and harvest yields. But what struck me most came near the middle of the journal. A whole section titled “Failed Experiments.” Here, her… Read More »The garden of failures
I’ve always been a complete jerk about audio speakers. Hand me control of one and watch me turn from a normal person into a musical show-off within seconds. “Listen to this obscure 80s metal band!” I’d yell while my poor date winced. “They combined speed metal with classical influences!” My date nodded politely while plotting… Read More »The Music Test
The phone rang. Sarah’s hand trembled as she reached for it, guided more by muscle memory than conscious thought. “Hello?” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. “Hi, Mom. It’s me.” Sarah pressed the phone tighter to her ear as if clarity might come from closer contact. “Who is this?” she asked, a surge… Read More »The Cardinal’s Song
Bumblebees are excellent workers, tirelessly maintaining their nests while pollinating plants and flowers. A significant study from Queen Mary University of London discovered that these social insects do more than work all day. They also take time to play. Researchers observed bumblebees engaging in joyful chase games, tumbling through the air in lighthearted loops. This… Read More »Notes of memories and buzzing bees
Tom and Bill had been neighbours their whole lives, tending to their farms on the outskirts of their small town. Every Saturday, they walked into town together to pick up supplies and catch up on the week’s events in the local pub. This particular Saturday started like any other. Tom and Bill met at the… Read More »The winning ticket
An old man walked along the beach and noticed a young boy. The boy was picking up starfish stranded by the receding tide and tossing them back into the sea. Intrigued, the old man asked what the boy was doing. “If the starfish are still on the beach when the sun gets high, they’ll die,”… Read More »The starfish story
When Max was at his lowest point, battling demons that nearly drove him to end it all, an abandoned puppy named Chica gave him a reason to keep going. And when a car tragically struck Chica, leaving her broken on the road, it was the kindness of a total stranger named Kenny that made all… Read More »Kindness for a kid on his knees in the middle of downtown Indianapolis
In the summer of 1998, while the world watched the Clinton scandal unfold and Google took its first steps in a garage, a group of college graduates sat in the Texas heat listening to Kurt Vonnegut. Most of what he said that day has been forgotten, but one story about his Uncle Alex and a… Read More »If this isn’t nice, what is?
You may think first-class flights and five-star hotels are the most exquisite pleasures, but the real luxuries in life are slow Sunday mornings in a home filled with love. A special kind of magic happens on Sunday mornings when the day stretches out before me, empty of plans and brimming with possibilities. It’s a time… Read More »Slow Sunday mornings
Gratitude is the unsung hero of high achievers. It’s the secret sauce, the magic ingredient that separates the good from the great. And yet, it’s often the last thing on our minds as we chase our goals. We think success is about hustle, about grind, about burning the midnight oil. And sure, hard work matters.… Read More »Does gratitude matter?
