Living in an urban area with green spaces has a long-lasting positive impact on people’s mental well-being, a study has suggested.

UK researchers found moving to a green space had a sustained positive effect, unlike pay rises or promotions, which only provided a short-term boost.

The authors said the results indicated that access to good quality urban parks was beneficial to public health.

The findings appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Read more at the BBC 

This is a continuation of last week’s post, if you haven’t read it yet, you can see it here.

The Nats were different than most teams.  When things got tough for the team, they didn’t get down on each other or themselves.  The Nats encouraged each other and their positive energy was infectious. As a result, each player had the confidence to shoot, pass, dribble, and even make mistakes without feeling the wrath from teammates (bickering among teammates is a common theme on most basketball teams.)

On this night, a group of Nats who had been used to playing football, baseball, and basketball in front of thousands of fans in high school and college, played in front of a crowd of about 20 people. The 20 people might as well been 20,000 as the Nats fed off the positive energy and support of the fans.

The Nats were down 15 points in the 2nd half of a low scoring game, it seemed as if the task was insurmountable. Then, all the sudden, the tides started to turn. One Nat, TR made a tough layup in traffic, ending a 6 minute Nat scoreless drought. The 20 fans finally had something to cheer for and you could feel the momentum starting to shift.

A few minutes later, another Nat who had been struggling from 3-point range all season, pulled up and swished an NBA range three to cut the lead to 10. The shot was so pure and Rivel Research started getting nervous.

Rivel’s point guard who had been solid and steady all season, lost his compusure and began turning the ball over and throwing up wild shots thanks to great defense by CS along with the hear and hustle of the Nats. The trash talking point guard was suddenly silenced.

With 6 minutes left, the Nats cut the lead to 7. And then 5. It was really happening, the Nats were coming back. The positive energy from the bench, from the fans, and from the team’s year+long camaraderie was driving the Nats right back into the game.

The teams went back and forth not scoring for a few minutes and WM missed a three+pointer. He calls himself an “inside shooter” and says he struggles to shoot outside in the swirling winds of Compo Beach. WM put his head down and a timeout was called. A few of the Nats slapped WM on the back and said emphatically, “Pick your head up, we need you, you’re going to be a big part of this game!” WM had been the Nats general manager, coach, and a key player all season. There’s truth to the rumor that he would send text messages to each Nat during the days leading up to the games asking how they were feeling and who they wanted to guard. At this point, WM needed was a little positive energy to get him back in the flow. His Nat teammates delivered.

After the timeout, the Nats had the ball down by 4. There was a loose ball and WM came out of nowhere and performed a baseball slide to grab the ball and dish it to CS. In the meantime, BL snuck behind the defense and was waiting for CS’ timely pass. BL recevied the perfect fastball from CS and put a lefty layup in right as two 6’10” power forwards attempted to block his shot. If he went with the right hand, that ball would have been rejected into the ocean.

MK made another outstanding terrific defensive play, forcing a turnover and the Nats had the ball down two with 55 second left. This was it.

WM got the ball in the wing. He made a strong, confident move to the rim and slapped the glass as he put a layup in to tie the game. The Nats had done it! They had overcome an unsurmountable lead. Now it was time to win.

Another defensive stand by the Nats thanks to great team defense especially CS and MK. The Nats had the ball and CS took an open three from the corner with 4 seconds left. It just missed and bounced high off the back iron. WM came in out of nowhere and over the two 7 foot Centers, he slapped the ball like a bear going after a fish. The first tip missed and then…. well we’ll let you see the video:

2013 Compo Beach Basketball Championship

Without positive energy, trust, support from friends and fans, this season would not have been possible. Thank you Nats and Nat supporters, for an unforgettable championship season.

As we celebrated on the beach with a bonfire afterwards, we heard the waves crashing against the sand and we thought of how grateful we were to participate and come away victorious.

There were four main lessons you can take from this. Look closely and you’ll see, the lessons apply not only to basketball and sports, but to life.

Stay positive

No matter how big your deficit, you can always come back. A comeback and a winning season are much more likely if you encourage each other and visualize the positive results before they take place.

MD Hoisting the Trophy

Reduce your ego

If the team is better off with you on the bench at some point during the game or the season, embrace this and support your teammates. The alternative is sulking in negativity and draining the positive energy from the team. As Coach John Wooden said, “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.”

Be present 

It’s easy to fret and get down about a turnover or a shot you missed in a previous possession but what good does that do?  We like to encourage each other and say, “Next play!” after each turnover or missed shot. If you’re focused on the previous possession, you’re more likely to commit a dumb foul out of frustration or make a mistake because you’re not 100% focused and present.

Practice gratitude

It’s always great to see athletes praying before, after, and during games. The ability to be healthy and able to participate in a sporting contest is a gift in itself. Once you realize this, the game slows down and becomes fun.

What lessons have sports taught you??

Love Brian & Paz

Serendipitously meeting people and connecting is one of the best parts of traveling. Tonight I met an interesting woman who is passionate about her job at the airport.

She gets to check people in and help them with their bags. I met her after my flight as she handed me my carry on bag which was stowed underneath the plane because of its size. I was last in line and no one had thanked her for her great service so I knew it was appropriate to greet her with extra positive energy. It was well received and we began to chat about work and life.

When I asked how long she’s been at O’Hare and if she likes it, her eyes lit up and she smiled saying, “I love it.” She said she gets the opportunity to meet people from all over the world saying, “You never who you’re going to meet and connect with.”

Her statement rung true as tonight, I briefly connected with Sabrina and made the determination that both the airport and our society is fortunate to have her!

This isn’t the first time we’ve blogged about positive energy in airports. Have any of our readers had similar experiences?

One of our readers sent us a message saying,“Reading Steve Jobs’ commencement speech is a very lucid practice. Even if you’ve done it before like I’m sure both of you might have.”

Click to read (not watch) the transcript of Steve Jobs’ epic Stanford commencement speech.

We encourage you to read the transcript but if you prefer to listen:

Positive Energy Can Change Your Life

I know from first hand experiences that positive energy can change your life. There are so many benefits of bringing positive energy in every day life. Here’s a small piece of my story to help you understand how positive energy can change your life.

My Early College Years

I played American football in at Union College and my team was my life. In the beginning years, I was tight with everyone on the team and tended to shy away from people who weren’t on the team. Sure, after the “big win,” I would go out and celebrate and open up to others but alcohol induced interactions aren’t necessarily genuine or meaningful. I was the guy wearing the my football sweatsuit around campus with my hoodie up and with no interest in meeting others.

Opening Up to Positive Energy

In my last 2.5 years of college and grad school, something changed. I started to open up and meet new people. I started having authentic, intentional, meaningful relationships with people. I started reading books about philosophy, life, and business.

I started practicing yoga because there was something about it that made me feel connected with my true self and others around me. I showed genuine interest in other’s lives and I reached outside of my circle of American football friends. Most of all, I started helping others. Whether it was something as small as holding a door for someone and smiling (do this 20x in one day and let us know how good it feels) or something as major as starting a community service group, I did it all.

Meeting New People Increases Positive Energy

I met as many people as I could from all different backgrounds. I reached out to everyone I came across. I mean it, everyone. I was on a first name basis with all of the employees at the college cafeteria, the school’s maintenance crew, the local gas station attendants, exchange students, professors, and more. For those 2.5 years, learning about their backgrounds, their families, their struggles, and their experiences was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.

I learned a ton about myself. I had some of the best experiences (which I will encapsulate in future posts) and formed life+long relationships. I met my amasing girlfriend and some of my best friends (see below picture in Thailand with Jim) in the world all as a result of bringing positive energy into the world. When we bring a positive outlook to relationships and facilitate real, meaningful discussions and form a genuine interest for other people, magic happens.

Brian, me, and our new friend Jim Siri from Siri Guesthose in Chiang Mai, Thailand

My friend, the Ashtangi as an Example of Positive Energy

I have a friend who brings a tremendous amount of positive energy into his life and the life of others. My friend, an avid Asthanga yoga practitioner, was low on money. By chance, through some of the positive energy relationships he has formed over the past few years, he was introduced to a local Ashtanga yoga instructor.

My friend Quinn the Ashtangi posing at Sunrise, Photograph by Danielle Lussier of Lucid Practice

I don’t think the instructor had any knowledge of my friend’s financial situation (or did he intuitively?) but for whatever reason asked him to come practice at his studio for free. The instructor said that the studio welcomes people like him — people who are eager to learn, people who are genuinely kind, people who uplift others, and people who want to connect with others in a meaningful way.

The instructor’s invitation was contingent on one commitment — one Ashtanga principle: commitment. The instructor welcomed my friend into the studio but said that my friend must be there for practice at 5:30am 6 days/week. Like Sharath Jois often says with a smile, “Ashtanga is for everyone. Except for the lazy.” As you can guess, my friend was there every morning because that’s the type of person he is.

If it Changed my Life, Positive Energy Can Change Your Life too

My “body of work” on campus and in the community during those 2.5 years represent my proudest life accomplishments. Watching our community service group projects blossom and having people thank me for changing their lives by sharing the positive energy philosophy — these are things that I will always cherish especially because it seemed so implausible 3 years prior to their occurence.

I share these stories in the hopes that people will consider embracing this way of life. Put good out into the world and good will happen unto you. The greatest part is that no matter what we’ve done in life up to this point, we can change whenever we want. Including right now.

If just one person reads this and decides to bring positive energy to their life: mission accomplished. I’m so grateful for what the philosophy of positive energy has brought into my life — if you haven’t found this way of living, I hope and pray that you will. Positive energy can change your life!

Some “Basic” Cellular Biology

There are thousands upon thousands of receptors on each cell in our body. Each receptor is specific to one peptide, or protein. When we have feelings of anger, sadness, guilt, excitement, happiness or nervousness, each separate emotion releases its own flurry of neuropeptides. Those peptides surge through the body and connect with those receptors which change the structure of each cell as a whole. Where this gets interesting is when the cells actually divide. If a cell has been exposed to a certain peptide more than others, the new cell that is produced through its division will have more of the receptor that matches with that specific peptide. Likewise, the cell will also have less receptors for peptides that its mother/sister cell was not exposed to as often.

Thus if you have been bombarding your cells with peptides from a negative attitude, you are literally programming your cells to receive more of those peptides in the future. Even worse, you are lessening the number of receptors of positive-attitude peptides, making yourself inclined towards negativity.

This is why it takes more than a few days of positive thinking to make a significant impact on your long-term attitude patterns. Every cell in your body is replaced every 2 months. So if you have a history of negative thinking, depression, pessimism or perpetual frustration, plan on working on yourself for longer than a few days before you see more permanent results.

Start today. Start reshaping the biological structure of your cells and become inclined to happiness and optimism instead of whatever emotion your are physically addicted to right now.

Hat tip to Ryan Calvert for finding the link on High Existence.

Some refer to the airport as the worst place on Earth. Airports are often associated with bad food, dirty facilities, rushed travelers, and awful customer service from TSA.

But if you cut through all of that, you’ll find love and positive energy all around you. I recently returned from a trip to Europe and here is what I saw:

1. Tears of sadness as a mother and father said farewell to their son and daughter in law. This is love in its purest form.

2. Tears of joy at the arrival gate as two young twin girls ran up to their dad (a returning soldier) and hugged him simultaneously. Again, pure love.

3. Two backpackers sparking up a passionate conversation about their travels. A trip to Madagascar, a yoga retreat in Thailand, a story about a bizarre market in Bangladesh. The travelers were sharing their love for meeting people and experiencing new cultures. That’s the essence of learning and loving.

This is the type of energy that the lucid practitioner can feed off of. In these three instances, I could feel the love. It almost brought me to tears.

We don’t need to be in the Himalayan Mountains in meditation to see that God, love, and positive energy are all around us.

When we put the iPhone/iPad/etc. down and begin to observe, the lucid practitioner can see beyond the negativity.  We then realize that love is all there is.

In the comments section, please share with us an unexpected place where you have been able to find peace, positive energy, and love.

~Paz

PS Here’s a May 31 2018 update to this post:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23662715/packers-rb-aaron-jones-lauded-airport-act-kindness-photo-goes-viral
Good to see kindness & positive energy spreading at the airport 🙂