Beyond Disability Cooperative

02/24/2026

Good information

08/26/2024

02/19/2024

CBS Sunday Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks collaborate on “happiness” (finding enjoyment and meaning in life).

Arthur C. Brooks is a professor who teaches a class on happiness at Harvard.

During the pandemic, Oprah Winfrey was searching for fuel to keep herself inspired, open to possibilities, and to keep herself hopeful. She started reading Brooks column in The Atlantic. Winfrey found herself looking forward more and more to reading his column on how to build a life. So she called and invited him to dinner.

Oprah believes that life is better when you share it, whether that is sharing bread or information. In order to share that information, together they hatched a plan to create a book: “Build the Life You Want—The Art and Science of Creating Happiness.”

Brooks says that the popular beliefs about what brings happiness: money, fame, power, good looks, are all wrong.

Going on to say: “Social media is this laboratory for earthly goals that actually make you miserable.”

Everybody is looking at other people’s social media. What they believe to be other peoples lives. But it is only a snapshot of other people’s lives. And feeling envy about that is a happiness killer.

After interviewing so many Oprah finds that most people do not know how to define happiness for themselves. Being able to answer specifically what that looks like for you is the beginning of being happier.

Brooks has insights on what is necessary for a happy life. He states that; All happiness is a combination of joy, satisfaction, and meaning.

We need to enjoy our lives. Enjoyment is not the same thing as pleasure though. The pursuit of pleasure will lead you to addiction and misery. Enjoyment adds in people and memories. Which is the reason that beer ads never have a guy on the couch pounding down a twelve pack of beer alone in his apartment but rather they have him with friends. Because with friends shows it’s a source of enjoyment.

Satisfaction is the joy we get after we struggle. Because humans are made to struggle and to achieve.

Meaning is the hardest one he says. Because meaning is the sense of coherence. That things happen for a reason. Direction and purpose—there is a reason for what is happening in my life and there is a reason for my life.

What makes you happy in daily life? For Oprah it’s nature and, of course, bread! For Brooks it’s teaching happiness and exercising in his basement.

How much is habit important in happiness? Brooks says, It’s important to have a routine for what you’re trying to do to set your day up in the right way. Structuring your day is critically important.

Another thing that’s important is accepting unhappiness as part of life. The truth is all of us have suffering in our lives. The job is not to eradicate the suffering. It is to grow and learn from the suffering. It is part of our life’s journey. It is part of what it means to be alive. You can’t be happy unless you’re also unhappy.

Oprah adds, You cannot control all of the external circumstances in your life. But you can control how you feel about those circumstances in your life.

For her, it boils down to the last lines of the poem, Invictus. “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”

Taking control of your emotions and not allowing your emotions to take control of you, taking the wheel, all allows you to be the master of your fate, and the captain of your soul.

02/18/2024

Liberty Mountain, Pennsylvania has an adaptive snow sports program that helps people with disabilities enjoy the freedom of movement in the outdoors through special equipment and a staff of volunteers.

Blue Ridge Adaptive Snow Sports, Inc. (BRASS) is a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization and a chapter of Move United. Our mission is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities through adaptive snow sports and recreational activities. We achieve this b

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Teaching Happiness…

During the pandemic, Oprah Winfrey contacted Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, famed for his lessons on happiness, and proposed teaming up to write a book abo...

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Interesting aptogenic herb.

Ashwagandha is a medicinal herb that has been shown to have powerful health benefits. This article reviews 12 evidence-based benefits of ash

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Too cool! Bones from the toes up.

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This is a free health summit for those with gastrointestinal issues... you must log in to view it but it is free for the next week

36 Experts Reveal How To Repair Your Gut & Enjoy Renewed Health and Energy

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Want to know all about COVID and what it means to you... Ars
Technica publishes daily updates of information and research to help people keep informed and stay as safe as possible.

Serving the Technologist for more than a decade. IT news, reviews, and analysis.

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Healthy eating helps promote health in a pandemic!

I spend a few minutes explaining to patients the role of diet in treating and reversing chronic illnesses and how plant-based diets lower mortality rates from all causes.