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The Dangers of Being Nice

#Honesty  #Nice  #Niceness #JustSayNo #No You’ve met them, I’ve met them, or you may be one of them: nice people. They always give others the benefit of the doubt, are ready to give a hand, or volunteer for that task that no one wants. They’re sensitive to the feelings of others, easy to be around, and rarely if ever, argue. What’s not to like? Not much, you say. But if you’re always the nice guy, if it’s your 24/7 public persona, there are often psychological dangers lurking below that friendly surface, a downside that can take its toll. Here are the most common ones: Internalization You’re that good, that laid-back all the time, really? Unless you’re on some major and highly effective medications, probably not. What always-nice people tend to do is internalize — hold in negative emotions that naturally rise up in the course of everyday life. The byproduct of these emotional crunches are often depression, anxiety, and addiction. Periodic Acting Out And if depression, anx

How beauty brands failed women of color

#Beauty  #FentyBeauty  #Rihanna  #WomenOfColor,  Rihanna’s new makeup line Fenty Beauty has been an instant success — and it’s not only popular because Rihanna’s name is attached to it. Fenty Beauty carries a wide range of foundations — 40 to be exact — which has the beauty industry shook.  Cosmetics and the beauty industry as a whole has a long history of creating products that did not match deeper-toned people of color.  There are a number of factors that lead to many mainstream beauty companies to having a narrow selection for people of color — and not all of those reasons are rooted in product development.  With Fenty Beauty, Rihanna is showing the industry that it’s worth investing money and time into creating nuanced products beyond the ranges of ivory, beige, and tan. Vox

Where do tornadoes hit the most in the US? Here are the top 5 states

#Tornadoes #Thunderstorms #Kansas #Texas Born from  thunderstorms ,  tornadoes  can cause immense devastation, ripping apart homes and tossing cars like toys. Tornadoes can happen any time of the year, but there are distinct seasons for twisters in different parts of the country, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's  Storm Prediction Center  (SPC). On average, around 1,200 tornadoes are reported in the U.S. every year, more than any country in the world. "There is a general northward shift in 'tornado season' in the U.S. from late winter through midsummer," the SPC says. "The peak period for tornadoes in the  Southern Plains , for example, is during May into early June. On the  Gulf Coast , it is earlier during the spring; in the Northern Plains and upper  Midwest , it is June or July." According to NOAA, some parts of the world are much more prone to tornadoes than others. The middle latitudes, particularly

The Story Behind The Song: ‘Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)’ Kate Bush’s bargain for understanding

#KateBush #HoundsofLove #RunningUpThatHill Arriving at the first notes of one of pop music’s seminal moments of theatrical and poetic perfection, Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ straddles the line between synth-operatic gold and a deeply personal and spiritual song about the quest for understanding. In our weekly feature The Story Behind The Song, we’re taking this moment to look at the shining gem in the pop crown that is Bush’s album Hounds of Love and find out the track’s beginnings and it’s continued journey. The first hit of ‘Running Up That Hill’ is not just a pop masterpiece but an undulating and intriguing song like none that had ever been heard before. It married up the love letter sensibilities that all truly great pop music should at least allude to. But it also gathered up a new level of poetic thinking as Bush’s lyrics explore not only human connection but our relationship with God. Bush explained in a 1985 interview: “It’s about a relationship between a man and

The Ripple Effect of Common Courtesy

#Buddhism #Karma #Compassion #Meditation #Mindfulness From the Buddhist point of view, there is always a relationship between cause and effect; this notion is expressed in various teachings about Karma. As we interact with the world, we plant various seeds that will ripen and grow either right away, soon enough or sometime in the future. If we look at nature, small seeds can have big results; for example, the tiny acorn, given the right causes and conditions, can produce the mighty oak tree. In a similar way, in the world of human interaction, small seeds can sometimes come together to produce large-scale results. This is why, if we want to create a good world for ourselves and others, attention to detail can sometimes trump having a huge vision. In that attention to detail, if we can lean toward courtesy and consideration for others, there is no doubt that we will begin to generate a more positive overall outcome. If we manifest grasping, aggression and ignorance in the

Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin.

#BlackAmerican #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory  #BlackHistorymonth #ClaudetteColvin Most people think of Rosa Parks as the first person to refuse to give up their seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. There were actually several women who came before her; one of whom was Claudette Colvin. It was March 2, 1955, when the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl refused to move to the back of the bus, nine months before Rosa Parks’ stand that launched the Montgomery bus boycott. Claudette had been studying Black leaders like Harriet Tubman in her segregated school, those conversations had led to discussions around the current day Jim Crow laws they were all experiencing. When the bus driver ordered Claudette to get up, she refused, “It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn't get up." Claudette Colvin’s stand didn’t stop there. Arrested and thrown in jail, she was one of four women who challenged the s

Meet the man who created Black History Month

  #African-AmericanHistory #BlackAmerican #Black History,#AmericanHistory #CarterGWoodson (CNN) February marks Black History Month, a federally recognized, nationwide celebration that calls on all Americans to reflect on the significant roles that African-Americans have played in shaping US history. But how did this celebration come to be -- and why does it happen in February? The man behind the holiday Carter G. Woodson, considered a pioneer in the study of African-American history, is given much of the credit for Black History Month. The son of former slaves, Woodson spent his childhood working in coal mines and quarries. He received his education during the four-month term that was customary for black schools at the time. At 19, having taught himself English fundamentals and arithmetic, Woodson entered high school, where he completed a four-year curriculum in two years. He graduated from Berea College in 1903 and went on to earn his master's degree in history from the University