Many Afghan children, especially girls, rarely partake in recreational sports. 34-year old Australian Oliver Percovich hopes to change all that, with some worn and tattered skateboards.

He plans to open this country’s first skateboarding school, Skateistan, this spring.

“Teenagers are trying to dissociate from old mentalities and I’m their servant,” Percovich said. “If they weren’t interested, I would’ve left a long time ago.”

Now, when he pulls his motorcycle into a residential courtyard here, a dozen youngsters pounce before it comes to a stop, yanking six chipped skateboards with fading paint off the back. The children, most participating in a sport for the first time in their war-hardened lives, do not want to waste any time.

Their skateboard park is a decrepit Soviet-style concrete fountain with deep fissures. Luckily, with upcoming worldwide funding, Ollie will build a skateboard park that will really wow these children.

Here’s some wonderful and inspiring video, showcasing the difference a simple skateboard can make.

Source: New York Times

Actor David Arquette is taking it to the streets - literally. In a creative attempt to bring awareness to the homeless situation in America, he is setting up camp on the streets of New York City.

According to MSNBC:

The 37-year-old actor plans to stay in a Plexiglas box above the Madison Square Garden marquee on Tuesday and Wednesday to raise $250,000 for Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief charity. He’ll stay in the box each day for about eight hours.

Donations can come on site or through text messages or a Facebook page set up by Mars Inc., the company that makes Snickers candy bars.

There are many creative ways in which to get a message across. Today, think of ways to express a problem in non-traditional ways. Sometimes its much more effective than words!

By now, most of us have heard about the power of positive thinking. We know that a slight change in perspective is enough to change the direction of a life. But did you know that even positive images possess the strength to shift a perspective permanently?

That’s right. A picture is worth a thousand words. What kind of picture? Well, it depends on what feeling or change you are trying to elicit.

Let’s say you really want to ace a job interview. As you’re awaiting your first meeting, you could picture yourself sailing through the clouds, like Superman. Or, if you’re nervous, you could imagine relaxing on a beach, feeling calm and composed. Or imagine you are radiating a warm, inviting and strong light.

If you’re having problems with someone, you could imagine a warm, yellow energy enveloping the two of you, making you both feel peaceful and connected. Or you could envision the two of you laughing together, in a loving, happy atmosphere.

The great part with this technique is that it doesn’t take much to turn the tides. According to one expert, a moment or two of positive visualization is enough to make a valid, working suggestion to your subconscious.

This technique is simple and powerful. Images hold much sway in our mind. And it only takes a moment. Today, start some positivity in your life simply by picturing a more positive outcome or atmosphere.

As a positive image expert puts it:

In so many cases, you can use positive images to help you stay positive and to transform the old negative images of the past. There is so much you can do to help yourself. Images can heal. You have more tools in your toolbox than you realize. It’s time to get them out of the box and use them!

Jasmine had a rough history. In 2003, police England found her in a garden shed, whimpering. She had been locked in the shed and was dirty and malnourished.

The policie took the dog to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock.

Nobody remembers how it began, but she started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It didn’t matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and deliver a welcoming lick.

Geoff relates one of the early incidents.

“We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them.”

“But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings.

“She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose.”

Jasmine became the animal sanctuary’s resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the Roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted.

“They are inseparable,” says Geoff “Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary.

It’s a real treat to see them.”

Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life.

Source: GreatPetNet

Did you know that reading is a great way to get out of the dumps? Not only does it stimulate parts of my your mind but it serves as a form of self-meditation and stimulates creativity. Of course, the other added benefit is that it improves your intelligence and educates you. Reading before bedtime, for instance, it’s been shown to relax and “clear” your mind for a more restful night sleep.

If you’re feeling particularly stuck in an area of your life, go to your used book store or library and find a book that advises you in that area. Find a quiet space, take a deep breath and open your mind for what’s in store.

During this computer age, we have slowly drifted away from this simple act that has such profound effects.

Make some time to lift your spirits and stimulate your mind.

Read, learn, grow, let go….

You’ve probably heard that even faking a smile elicits a positive response in your brain. It’s sort of an “outside in” approach! But today, we’re going to focus on the power of sharing a smile, with a stranger or a loved one.

We all know that magical feeling when a stranger warmly smiles at us. It seems so polite and warm. It’s a positive, human outreach.

Have you ever tried gently smiling during a tense discussion? Not the easiest thing to do (and not meant to be done in sarcastic way!) but give it a shot the next time you find yourself embroiled in an argument. That simple act is enough to diffuse some of the stormy, negative energy.

Smiling at strangers is a great way to break the ice, in a bigger, sociologcial way. Even if the person doesn’t respond, they feel a sense of safety and comfort and you feel the pride of sharing warmth with someone you don’t know. That’s how the world changes!

Get in the practice of smiling at people first thing in the morning. When you do this, you set a trend for the day - one of positivity and hope.

Smiling can take courage in today’s world, when everyone seems so hustle bustle. But take the time to make eye contact and smile with a cashier or an old friend or a co-worker or a family member.

Again - smiling seems like a simple act but guess what? It’s a simple act that has a tremendous, positive ripple effect. Today, try to smile a little more than yesterday. And tomorrow, a little more than today. You’ll find your spirits lifting along with others.

An Iraqui Girl Smiles a Universal Smile

Be prepared for the cutest video you will see today!

This man specializes in training abandoned or rescued wolves so they can re-enter the wild. In this short video, he teaches a pup how to howl. Not only is it so adorable, it’s ridiculous…but what’s really impressive is how much this man sounds like an actual wolf. Spot on! (He kind of looks a little wolf-like as well. We all have our “animals within.”)

Shaun Ellis has immersed himself with wolves, learning elements that will undoubtedly help scientists and wildlife. Let’s all take our hats off to man with such a deep and undying commitment.

Ladies and gentlemen,  Wolfman Shaun Ellis teaching a very young wolf pup to howl:

Cutest Video Ever - Man teaches Wolf to Howl

We often think of posivitity as a difficult mindset that we need to master. Or that its a major attitude change that never allows for any negative emotions. Neither are true. Positivity is all around you. Even on a bad day, you can gently take note of things that added to your life, without feeling artificial or “faking it.”

Here’s some positive things that happened to me this morning:

1. My coffee came out just right. Taking the first sip was heavenly.

2. There was a butterfly on the handlebars of my bicycle.

3. I heard jazz music playing from a neighbor’s home and it was relaxing.

4. A friend sent me an email with a great compliment in it.

5. I don’t remember my dream this morning but I do recall enjoying myself. I was travelling a lot and meeting people.

6. When I put on my robe today, it smelled great (I had it hanging on the clothesline yesterday.)

7. My body feels good today - relaxed, strong.

8. I like this blog post - I like sharing simple ways to discover good stuff in your life, not re-inventing the wheel!

9. I love my old truck. Everytime I see it, it makes me smile. It suits me perfectly.

10. I had fresh blueberries with my cereal, picked from the New Jersey Pinelands.

See if you can create a similar list, composed of the seemingly mundane. Even if you’re not feeling uberly positive, these small observations can make big changes.

Sometimes going green can seem overwhelming. There are so many ways in which we affect our planet on a daily basis. There are some many toxins to avoid and so much help needed to make our world healthier. Where to begin?

CNN published a list of small things you can do to make a difference. Try to integrate a few of these pointers every day. You won’t know what hit you!

Workshop

1. Unplug your power tools. Figure out which cordless tools (like drill/drivers) get the most use, then unplug the chargers on all the rest. Most cordless tools have nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries, which will hold some charge for up to a year. They lose 15 to 20 percent of their juice each month, but only take a couple of hours to power up again. Newer tools with lithium ion batteries lose just 2 to 5 percent of their charge each month, so they’ll be ready to go even if you haven’t charged them in ages.

2. Spread sawdust on your floor. Take the superfine shavings captured by your dust collection system, wet them down, then push them around with a stiff broom to sweep your concrete garage or workshop floor. The mix is as good as a power-guzzling shop vac at picking up dust but doesn’t swirl it into the air.

3. Up the wattage on lights. Where you still use incandescent bulbs (with dimmers or three-ways) on multiple fixtures in a room, try consolidating. One 100-watt incandescent emits more light than two 60-watt bulbs combined but requires 17 percent less power. The 100-watter also uses the same energy as four 25-watt bulbs, but pumps out twice as much light. Just be sure your bulbs don’t exceed the maximum wattage recommendation for each fixture. This Old House: Energy-saving bulbs

4. Eat your leftover take-out. Then save the plastic containers it came in–which can’t be recycled in most municipal waste systems–and use them to organize your nails, screws, and leftover paints. Not only does their tight seal help preserve solvents, but the see-through containers stack neatly and display contents clearly. For added strength, double up the thin ones.

5. Save used paint thinner. After cleaning oil-based finishes from brushes and tools, allow the dirty solvent to sit overnight. The sludge will settle to the bottom of the jar, leaving a layer of clear thinner on top. Carefully decant the clear thinner into a clean jar, and reseal it for future use. Be sure to dispose of the leftover sludge at a hazardous-waste-disposal site–never down a sink drain or into a street gutter.

6. Mix it up in the garage. Combine all those cans of leftover white paint that inevitably collect after you decorate the house and use them to paint the garage or workshop. (Make sure only to mix latex with latex and oils with oils.) You’ll keep the stuff out of the trash, and by adding the semi-glosses to the flats and eggshells, you’ll end up with a sheen that’s easy to clean.

7. Turn things on their heads. Store paint cans upside down so the solvents–which separate and rise to the top–get trapped under the bottom of the can. Not only will paint last longer, but solvents won’t be able to slowly seep out through the lid this way.

8. Take charge of your charges. Invest in an inexpensive battery tester, then set up a “battery center” where you can store new cells, check used ones for power, and set aside those that have burned out and have to be recycled. A designated collection spot will deter you from throwing bad batteries in the garbage. Once or twice a year, you just take the pile to your town’s recycling center.

Kitchen

9. Take your fridge’s temperature. Stick an appliance thermometer in a glass of water in the center of your refrigerator, or between frozen goods in the freezer, overnight. Your fridge temp should be between 37 and 40 degrees F (no more, to keep bacteria at bay); your freezer between zero and 5 degrees. If either compartment is too cold, adjust the setting, since keeping them just 10 degrees colder than necessary can boost your energy consumption by up to 25 percent.

10. Freeze your assets. Slip a dollar bill between the rubber gasket on your freezer and fridge doors and the frame, then close the door and tug on the buck. Notice any resistance? If not, the seal’s not tight enough and cold air is probably leaking out, making your fridge work harder to stay cool. Try this on all four sides of the door.

If necessary, call the manufacturer’s service department to find out how to replace the gasket.

11. Throw a dinner party. And clear out that second fridge or freezer in the garage or basement. Then banish the appliance to the recycling center. Getting rid of either one can save you more than $200 a year, especially if it’s an old, inefficient model. This Old House: House-part recycling centers

12. Invite your biggest buddy over. Ask him to help you move your fridge out of direct sunlight or away from the range. The heat from either will force a refrigerator compressor to gobble up more energy than necessary. A fridge uses up to 2.5 percent more power for each degree the surrounding temperature is above 70 degrees. So moving it out of a 90-degree spot can save you as much as $70 a year. If you can’t move it, at least block any sunny window with curtains and put as big a buffer as you can between it and the range.

13. Use the dishwasher. Doing a full load in your machine is far more efficient than washing the same number of dishes by hand. This is especially true if you have an Energy Star dishwasher, which requires an average of 4 gallons of water per load, compared with the 24 gallons it takes to do them in the sink. Using one will save you 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time each year.

Bathroom

14. Turn your toilet tank blue. Or green or red. Pour food coloring into the water in the tank, wait two hours, then check to see if any color has seeped into the bowl. If it has, your tank’s flapper is leaking, either from mineral buildup or worn parts. After you flush the dye away so it doesn’t stain, head to the hardware store for a replacement flapper assembly (then go to thisoldhouse.com for instructions on how to install it). Toilet leaks waste up to a gallon of water per minute. That’s more than 43,000 gallons a month.

15. Run the shower. Place a 1-gallon bucket under the running water, then see how long it takes for it to fill up. If it’s less than 20 seconds, replace the showerhead with one that sprays 1.5 gallons per minute. That could save as much as 14,600 gallons of water a year–especially if you limit your showers to 10 minutes. It will also save you $22 on your annual water bill, and $150 per year on water heating.

16. Go from scalding to just hot. Turn your water heater’s temperature setting down from the standard 140 degrees F to 120 degrees. Not only will this save you some bucks, it’ll also slow down mineral buildup and corrosion, prolonging the life of your tank. Since a new water heater costs about $900 installed, each additional year of use saves you money as well.

17. End the water torture. One drip per second from a leaky faucet or pipe can waste up to 5 gallons of water a day–and 1,800 gallons a year. While you won’t notice much of an increase on your water bill (around $3 annually), if an overlooked leak soaks through your kitchen floor, you could wind up with a $1,000 repair job–money that could have been saved by simply replacing a 50-cent washer.

Entries

18. Wipe your feet. Equip your exterior doors with a series of mats–or one long “walk-off” mat–so everyone enters with clean shoes. As long as there’s room for five steps on the mats, you’ll drastically reduce the amount of grime tracked in. That means fewer pathogens that cause disease and less chemical cleanup. It will also mean improved indoor air quality, since dirt embedded in a carpet can become airborne when it’s tromped on or agitated by a vacuum.

Basement/laundry

19. Reach behind your clothes washer. Turn down the hot water tap for the washing machine so less goes into the warm-water cycle. Perspiration and most other dirt dislodge best at body temperature, so you don’t need water that’s warmer than 100 degrees. Since most washers simply open both the hot and cold taps to make “warm” water, it may take longer to fill the machine. But you’ll save about $40 annually on your water-heating bill.

20. Spend more time in the basement. Make sure furnace filters in forced-air systems are clean. Dirty furnace filters restrict airflow and increase energy use. Cleaning them, or swapping them out each month during the winter, can save you up to 5 percent on your heating costs. Also schedule an annual checkup before the heat comes on to see that the furnace is properly calibrated.

Living areas

21. Listen to your mother. And put on a sweater. That way you can turn down your thermostat this winter. Adjust it by just one degree for eight hours a day, and you could save 1 percent on your monthly heating bills. Do it for 24 hours and save 3 percent. Try setting the temp at 70 degrees during the day and 62 at night during winter (and 78 or higher come summer). Heating and air-conditioning account for nearly half the energy used in our homes, so every little bit less you use makes a dent.

22. Worship the sun. Or at least use it to your advantage. Open blinds or drapes to let in natural solar heat on cold days, then close them once the sun sets, and you can reduce your heating bills by 10 percent. You can also cut your cooling costs by up to 33 percent in the summer by blocking out sunlight with exterior blinds, shutters, or awnings. To keep rooms bright, paint or paper with light or reflective colors.

E-mail to a friend

Source: CNN

Often we become trapped in a pattern of negativity. We are so used to complaining that conveying a positive viewpoint often feels foreign or forced or fake.

Misery loves company. We know this to be true. And that’s not all bad, believe it or not. When we share our burden with others, we share ourselves, our fears, our concerns. And others can relate. Sharing our pain reminds us that we’re not alone!

But if that’s all your conveying, you can often trap yourself in negative, self-cyclical pattern.

If you’re the type who often feels the need to share only the negative side of you, today try something different. Share with someone a story of hope, of positivity, of promise.

Every day, every moment, something positive happens. Tell someone about it. Maybe you had a great cup of coffee or watched the sunrise. Maybe you just love the way a co-worker did her hair today or really appreciate the way a friend checks in with you so frequently. Write a bright, expressive poem. Sing an upbeat song loudly. Be thankful. Speak gratitude.

By making these small adjustments, you make big changes. Positive energy is powerful. It’s concentrated! A little goes a long, long way. Start today.

Speak positively!