4 ted talks to make you thankful this thanksgiving

We will be getting in the car tomorrow evening to drive to Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday. The trip is roughly 4.5 hours from our house and we always pass some of the time listening to This American Life episodes. We haven't listened to that many TED talks but tomorrow I will be adding this playlist from TED all about thankfulness. The playlist features four talks. The first by Louis Schwartzberg is entitled Nature.Beauty.Gratiitude, the second by Laura Trice is all about remembering to say thank you, the third by Krista Tippett is called Reconnecting with Compassion and lastly the story of Ed Gavagan who conveys his thanks to the surgeons that saved his life after he was stabbed on a NYC street. Like I said I haven't listened to any of them yet but I thought I would share so that fellow travelers could enjoy as well. 

why stay in Chernobyl? Because it's home.

Monday mornings are great for TED talks. They provide inspiration at the start of the work week and often lead me down a path of thinking that I had never considered. This short TED talk by Holly Morris tells the story of an unlikely community of women who live in the dead zone of Chernobyl. It is a tragic yet beautiful story about the power of home and place that Morris states "rival even radiation". A must listen to especially if you are looking for a way to start your Monday other than with email. Have a good week everyone!

Click here to be directed to the talk. 

less stuff, more happiness

Graham Hill is a designer, environmentalist, entrepreneur and founder of the popular website TreeHugger.com. More recently, Hill launched Life Edited - a website with the motto "design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy". His TED talk, "less stuff, more happiness" discusses this recent venture and the ideas behind it.

Beginning with some powerful statistics, Hill's short 6 minute talk goes on to make the case that less is indeed more. Advocating quality over quantity, Hill explains how less stuff leads to a smaller carbon footprint, more financial freedom and ultimately less stress and more happiness. The talk is super short so I highly recommend that everyone take the 6 minutes to listen. Enjoy!