Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
A small town in Germany is showing the rest of the world what helping refugees actually means
Language barriers and societal differences certainly make the integration of refugees a challenge for cities, but it is more than possible. Just take a look at Marburg, a German town pioneering a model to connect incoming refugees job that stabilize their lives. Marburg has a job center unlike any Read More...
Meditation apps that’ll keep you from losing your mind
Taxes are due, students are prepping for finals, and the sunny days of summer are still a dream away. Your days are filled with stress! There’s gotta be an app for that. Good news: We’ve found some apps to help you unwind. Load up your devices with these tools for mediation, mindfulness, and Read More...
Growing bricks from scratch to reduce carbon emissions
So, bricks. How much time have you ever spent thinking about bricks? Unless you’ve built your own house, I’m guessing the subject has hardly ever crossed your mind. This means that you’d probably be somewhat surprised to find out that bricks are used in over 80 percent of global construction. Read More...
San Francisco becomes first US city to mandate fully paid parental leave
The US may be the leader of the western world, it’s the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity or parental leave to workers. Now San Francisco has become the first US municipality to mandate that employers offer fully paid parental leave, and activists hope the Read More...
Bitcoin Start-Up Gets an Electronic Money License in Britain
The British government has pushed through its first licensing of a virtual currency company, underscoring its desire to make London a hub for the development of financial technology. The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain’s top financial regulator, has granted an electronic money license to Read More...
If you struggle to meditate, try this
Meditation can be difficult for some people to achieve Simple breathing exercises can be a gateway to relaxation and a form of meditation I was on vacation last week, and I spent a few days in Cape Cod. In March, it's a gray place. Most of the things that make it "the Cape" in the eyes of folks who Read More...
Can robots reestablish trust in traditional party politics?
Millions around the world have lost their trust in traditional politics. Populist politicians are benefitting from the protest votes. Can politics be saved by technology? One alternative is to design policy-making systems—robots—in such a way that policy-makers are sheltered from undue outside Read More...
How to cultivate mindfulness to curb spending
A clean slate. A fresh start. These phrases are popular in springtime, when Americans are focused on clearing the clutter and cobwebs from their households. They're also declarations commonly used by consumers who want to regain control of their finances. Whether it's finally making a plan to pay Read More...
The mushroom: A doubly-whammy for Vietnam’s poverty & pollution
It’s very difficult not to have a smile on your face while looking at Fargreen’s Postcode Lottery Green Challenge pitch (it takes less than 5 minutes, definitely worth a watch!). The founder and CEO, Trang Tran passionately describes her social enterprise, Fargreen. At Fargreen, they have been Read More...
How a Swedish school helps migrant kids to integrate
Shabo Rhawi is clearly vexed during our first meeting. Sitting in the office of Elafskolan, the only school in Europe with a curriculum specifically designed for Assyrian children, the headmaster nurses a black coffee, prepared to answer questions on the school’s bilingual program. Instead, Read More...