Three years. It's been three years since the pandemic became a part of our lives. In these three years, we've experienced immeasurable personal loss. We've had to reexamine our beliefs and expectations, our prejudices and the most fundamental ways we understand each other. I'm not a "silver lining" kind of person. I believe in honoring one's feelings, and sometimes that means saying, "Wow, this sucks!" But in this time, in these endless three years, we've all been blessed with life-changing lessons. We learned love is the greatest comforter in the face of grief. We learned that, though we cannot change the world alone, we can always have a positive impact on those around us. We learned that kindness is brave and uncomfortable, that sometimes it looks like speaking up instead of staying silent and polite. Our characters are honed on the whetstone of hardship. We may be worse for the wear because of these unprecedented times, but there's no doubt that we can also, in so many strange ways, change for good.
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Our favorites this week
Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
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Just keep running
Some people just have the energy! Australian runner Erchana Murray-Bartlett recently completed 150 marathons in 150 days, an achievement so cool it sounds like an algebra word problem. We'll save you the math: That's about 3,900 miles that Murray-Bartlett covered, from the northern tip of Australia to the southern city of Melbourne. Not only could her feat mark a new world record, it also raised awareness of the threats to Australia’s biodiversity. "One of the key things I wanted to get out of this run, it was to showcase Australia’s beauty to the world – we have globally significant national parks, the Great Barrier Reef, and exploring them on foot is such a unique, different way to do it," Murray-Bartlett said. Well, when she puts it that way, running 26.2 miles a day for half a year sounds kind of appealing!
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Mooin' and tootin'
Cow burps and farts are a very real part of climate change. No, there's nothing funny about that. This is serious! Cows produce methane when they toot, and methane is a potent greenhouse gas. In fact, nearly one-third of global methane emissions come from livestock. Lots of research has gone into reducing these, ah, gastric emissions. Bill Gates recently invested in Australian start-up Rumin8, which is developing a seaweed-based feed for cows to curb their gassiness. A 2021 study found that giving cows small amounts of seaweed over several months can reduce their methane emissions by 80%. You're welcome for the dinner table conversation starter.
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Gotta visit 'em all
Rachel Davey and Martina Sebova have achieved a top-tier couples goal: Traveling to almost every country in the entire world. When the pair met in 2008, they were both already avid travelers. But it's all more fun with that special someone, so Davey and Sebova plotted, saved and strategized to cover the remaining 88 countries neither of them had visited on their own. Now, they've each visited over 100 of the 195 UN-recognized countries and territories on the globe. What did they learn? The couple says some countries they were wary of visiting, like Sudan and Iran, ended up having the most kind and welcoming people. Their final country was Samoa, and they said it was a perfect place to reflect on their incredible journey.
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Buzz Aldrin, who married his longtime lady love on the occasion of his 93rd birthday! His new wife, Dr. Anca Faur, holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and is the EVP of Buzz Aldrin Ventures. So in other words, they're a power couple. Aldrin thanked his fans for their good wishes. "It means a lot and I hope to continue serving a greater cause for many more revolutions around the sun,” he wrote on Twitter.
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I find butterflies to be a bit untrustworthy. They may look like magical fairy creatures from far away, but when they're flying right at you they're just another big bug with no notion of personal space. Regardless, you've gotta hand it to this beauty. The Fender’s blue butterfly used to be so rare, it was thought to be extinct. However, it was rediscovered in 1989 and has enjoyed such a meteoric resurgence that it's no longer considered endangered, at all. The Fender’s blue butterfly is found only in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and only lays its eggs on one specific plant. State agencies, landowners and scientists were able to work together to strategically sow the plants, and keep the butterfly's prairie habitat balanced. It's hard to describe what a rare triumph this is, and conservationists are seeing it as a sign of hope for other threatened species.
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Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
- Robert F. Kennedy, from a speech at the University of Cape Town, 1966 |
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We all know movement, in general, is good for our health. However, a new study suggests brisk, heart-pumping activity for as little as six to nine minutes a day could actually protect the brain more than other forms of exercise. Vigorous movement, such as aerobic dancing, jogging, running, swimming and biking up a hill, heightens your heart rate and breathing, which can improve sleep and brain health. However, it can also be a challenge, so here's what I propose. Another recent study says enjoying nature may lessen the need for some medications (and, in general, we're all aware being in nature is a healthy thing to do). Why not ... combine the two? Let's call it the Feral Cryptid Workout. Find the nearest patch of trees or inviting glade, and gambol madly about for ten minutes or so. Will you scare your friends and neighbors? Maybe! It's a small price to pay for health.
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Rec of the week
Brought to you by CNN Underscored
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Shameless animal video
There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.
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You're invited to otter brunch! Their table manners aren't the best, and the conversation may leave something to be desired, but the ambiance is unbeatable. (Click here to view) |
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A newsletter for the good in life |
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