Awesome Stories 284

/ September 3, 2016

This week Awesome Stories brings you food security, celebrity baby, teaching sustainability and the science of awe!

Capstone for Food SecurityCapstone, Awesome Stories

Capstone was formed to help bring food security to residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. David Young came to S. Louisiana thinking he would help rehab some homes, but he found a bigger need for food in the area. As with many lower income neighborhoods, access to fresh, affordable and healthy food is limited. David bought one vacant lot and started a garden. He’s gradually added more lots and gardens with the help of many volunteers. Five years later, Capstone has 26 lots, numerous gardens, fruit orchards, bee hives and a honey business, and a weekly produce market.

Sustainability Comes to Schools

Thankfully, more and more schools are teaching kids about sustainability. The idea is to prepare them for a changing world that may need resource conservation and will certainly need people who can live in harmony with nature. “Smart by Nature” is a school curriculum that literally draws on the wisdom of nature developed from the earth’s evolution. Kids are taught to look to nature for creative solutions to the world’s problems. But more than learning about living simply, conservation and other trendy “green” ideas, the real goal is to teach them to think holistically, using systems and wisdom gleaned from nature’s ability to keep adapting and evolving. Their core principals are; Nature Is Our Teacher, 2- Sustainability Is a Community Practice, 3- The Real World Is the Optimal Learning Environment, 4- Sustainable Living Is Rooted in a Deep Knowledge of Place.

Fun with Baby JoeyBaby Joey, Awesome Stories

This mom sure has fun dressing up and photographing her daughter. Check out the creative costumes Laura Izumikawa creates for Joey while she sleeps. Laura started dressing up Joey and taking photos to express (and share) her love for Joey. Then when the photos started getting so much attention she hesitated, but after receiving positive feedback Laura decided to continue. Joey has no idea she’s become a star of the internet while she sleeps. I wonder whether Joey will become an actress, model or misfit from all the attention. 🙂

The Science of Awe

Not that we need science to appreciate awe, but it’s interesting to see that awe is being studied as an important element in our lives and evolution. According to scientists at UC Berkely, awe may have developed to help us evolve and survive as a species. They concluded that awe helped us transcend self-gratification in favor of cooperation and concern for the collective. This helped humans survive in dangerous environments. The second aspect of awe they studied was its ability to bring present moment benefit. Specifically, awe stimulates wonder and curiosity, which also helps us learn and grow, both individually and collectively. Now that science has proved its benefit, make sure and get your daily dose of awe! What brings you awe? For me it’s the wonder of nature; a rainbow, a shooting star or even a simple flower bursting with color and aroma.

I hope you have an awe-filled week!  🙂

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35 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 284”

  2. Brad this was indeed another awesome post.. Loved the first story, I was well into reading his good deeds and the picture slide show of all his labelled veggies..
    Which is where I have been this week… harvestings and freezing, thinning out the raspberry canes and sorting out the strawberry plants that have now finished..
    Good to be back here and have my PC back too. 🙂
    have a great weekend. Hugs Sue xx

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  8. What brings me awe is these posts! And I find awe in the little things, the unexpected things, the ‘ordinary’ people doing ‘ordinary’ things with such love that the results are ‘extraordinary’. And of course, change, aliveness, when something someone or something says or does suddenly changes the atmosphere around it as if a whole host of angels have just arrived, those moments when you can feel the love/passion in the room so tangibly that you know, as a collective, if we connect with that – we can do anything. Thanks for the continued inspiration…Love and blessings, Harula xxx

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    • What a beautiful perspective on how to find beauty in the little things in life Harula. I’m in awe of your words. 🙂 May we join together in finding the beauty in each moment becoming a powerful collective spreading love!

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  9. Very interesting post. I believe that we do need to sense the awe in the natural world and all that it gives us. Taking so much for granted can only end in being empty…devoid of the joy of life. It’s also important not to be in awe of the trivial….i.e. the celebrity culture, etc:) Enjoy your long weekend. Janet.

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  10. I’m a little late to the game. 😛
    But wanted to come by and say hello! Been on a blogging hiatus so I can update articles on a site that got me started writing online. And trying to come up with another book idea. Hehe.
    But just wanted to say thank you for inspiring and always filling my cup with good news! Hope you’re well.

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  11. I love the collection of Baby Joe’s images – they are so refreshing 🙂 Thank you for inspiring and awesome stories – it always make me feel better that many people still care about this planet and society in honest and genuine way!

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