What makes a community abundant in this new new normal world? In this uncertain economy where budgets of local governments and non-profit budgets will continue to get slashed, it is especially heartening to read the mutual-reliance message inherent in this book.
How Communities Can Run Leaner and Better
Rather than rely solely on outsiders and related funding [...]

Partners – romantic and otherwise – tend to fight when one feels neglected or threatened. When Peter Bregman’s wife yelled from two rooms away, “at least pack the shampoo” she was feeling neglected.
Recognizing which underlying feeling is being evoked helps you know how to resolve the conflict. So discovered psychology professor Keith Sanford.
Which one is [...]

Even though we know we are more likely to savor life and attract more opportunities to collaborate when we click with others, we often get in our own way – especially when we are distracted or worse.  Here are five concrete ways to connect with others.
1. Face the world as you want to be treated
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I met my high school boyfriend when I was upset and swung open my locker door so fast I banged him on the head as he was leaning into his locker. Not everyone can take such a first encounter in stride let alone retort with a grin, “If this is how you treat strangers how [...]

“Cesar Milan says that when a dog sniffs you she’s gathering information. My dog is preparing an extensive dossier on me,” wrote Paula Poundstone.
Humor is a way to get information about each other.
How we evoke and respond to it says so much about how comfortable we are with ourselves and how flexible, open and fun [...]

If you see people sneaking around a neglected lot, digging in the dirt, they may be guerrilla gardeners. Like using your cell phone to send city officials photos of potholes in the street, it’s another sign of the new wave of community-building and sharing.
Other fresh signs of sharing are sliver time volunteering, co-housing, book swaps, the [...]

While happiness books are all the rage, none begin by showing us the inescapable first step to connecting with others.   Yet having social ties is the single best predictor of a longer, healthier, more satisfying life. 
That seemingly mundane step? Attention.
When hired by Disney to observe what infants and toddlers paid the most attention to at [...]

Recently two friends broke trust with me. One offered to do something that was vital to me, didn’t and didn’t tell me. Another shared private information about me with a stranger who then told several people who work with me.
I don’t know which betrayal felt worse. I do know they can be seen as an [...]

Something in yesterday’s “Modern Love“ column struck me as ringing true, not only for enduring marriages but for flourishing friendships, “Being single is all about the future, about the person you’re going to meet at Starbucks or after answering the next scientific compatibility questionnaire. Being married, after a certain point, is about the past, about a steadily [...]

If you’re not feeling happy then this post can help. Did you know that more Americans are happier now than before our economy went bad? Now how does that make you feel? Stay with me though for the revelation that can lift your spirits.
Everyone who claims to be happy may have some reason for finding an upside to [...]