Reasons to be Cheerful

1 week ago | reasonstobecheerful.world | Anna Patton

How do you put a stop to bullying? For a primary school in Cambridge, England, the answer lay in a work of fiction. For years, one class had had “real problems with bullying and damaging relationships,” says teacher Helen Mulligan. Malorie Blackman’s book Cloudbusting, the story of an unlikely friendship between two boys, offered a way to explore relevant issues without making it personal and potentially worsening the situation.

1 week ago | reasonstobecheerful.world | Ben Seal

This story was copublished by Reasons to be Cheerful and MindSite News. Tucked away in the shaded corner of a community garden in New Haven, Connecticut, a beehive awaits. Seven teenagers are here to check on their beehive’s health, but before they do, they need to prepare themselves for the moment. Gathered beneath a bountiful oak tree, they pull on their bee suits — pink and white and pale green — and don protective gloves and face coverings to avoid any risk of a sting.

1 week ago | reasonstobecheerful.world | Michaela Haas

When Marcus Capone retired from active duty in 2013 after 13 years as a Navy SEAL and explosives breacher, he had a hard time reintegrating into family life. “I was struggling to find solace, purpose or peace,” he recalls. “I wasn’t getting along with my wife and kids, nothing was working out.” Four years later, he reached a breaking point: “Time was running out; I was thinking about suicide.”Traditional therapy and a rotating cast of antidepressants and mood stabilizers brought no relief.

1 week ago | reasonstobecheerful.world | Michaela Haas

Living Paradigms is a series about what we can learn from the customs and cultural practices of others when it comes to solving problems. It is sponsored by Wonderstruck. Behind rows of cookie-cutter tract homes in Hesperia, California, at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert, hides what looks like a playground for grown-up hobbits. Arches, perfectly round dome-shaped structures and emergency shelters sprout from the sand.

2 weeks ago | reasonstobecheerful.world | Peter Yeung

Back in 2018, Roman Tresens Gallard received the most dreaded surprise, the kind that happens only when you open up your energy bills. The monthly rate in his new apartment, the letter revealed, was now rising to over €100 a month. “It was scandalous,” says Gallard, scarcely masking his fury over the phone. Living alone in a social housing apartment in Barcelona, Gallard, now 74, was in an extremely precarious position. He had no family to support him. His income was a minimal state pension.