Forgiveness is not easy. Humans, being the imperfect creatures we are, most of us are called upon to practice forgiveness at one time or another. There’s a new study that sheds light on why it is something we should do. It was conducted by Everett L. Worthington Jr. a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He specializes in forgiveness and in how people reach it. He says how people become ready to forgive varies but usually falls into two main categories, decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness. “you can experience a change in your emotions and then decide to forgive,” he explains, “Or you can decide to forgive first and experience those changes emotionally later on.” For people who are struggling to forgive or may need a push to experience it he suggests to be mindful of three evidence-based ways forgiveness can benefit our health. Not being able to forgive invites feeling of hostility, anger and stress. While forgiveness is not the only way to deal with stress and adversity, it is an effective way. Forgiveness is the opposite of the fight or flight response of the parasympathetic nervous system, it is called the rest and digest response, it slows breathing and heart rate and ends up being good for heart health. Last but not least, forgiveness keeps us from ruminating. We all ruminate, but sometimes rumination can lead to a host of psychological issues such as depression, obsessive disorders, anxiety, psychosomatic disorders. ….And so even if and when it seems unfair, it is in our best interest to forgive.
Wikipedia The Bridge Builder
Some years ago a friend wanted to add information to her mother’s Wikipedia entry. Her mother had been a renowned actress, but before she could do it, she had to pass muster with the editors of the service. It turned out to be a hassle for she not only had to prove the significance and impartiality of her additions, she also had to enter them in a way that met their style. She was glad when it was over, but nevertheless appreciative of a process that would prevent anyone from just entering whatever they deemed appropriate. The process behind the scenes is what makes Wikipedia the trusted, reliable, accessible and widely read information site it has become. In an era where issues are polarized, Wikipedia has managed a neutral tone. The main site on abortion, for example, since it has many, does not give medical advice, just describes what it is and the several ways it can be done. The neutral tone, however, comes after much effort, many discussions and is not easily achieved. In fact the head of Wikipedia’s parent company says that the most controversial a subject is, the more they end up being neutral. As a result it seems that Wikipedia has become a model for how crowdsourced knowledge can function in societies as polarized as we have become, so much so that in 2016 the Harvard Business Review used it as one of its case studies. A headline in an Axios article “Wikipedia Blazes a Trail in a Divided World” tells us what it has accomplished. Wikipedia is now 10 years old, and there’s every reason to believe that it will continue at least for the next 10 years.
Ocean Mapping
Ocean mapping as it turns out is more important than just knowing what lies under what covers some 70% of the earth’s surface. Understanding the seafloor is important for safe navigation, for conservation efforts, for fisheries management because marine wildlife congregates around underwater mountains. But ocean mapping also has another function. It influences ocean currents and how water mixes in a vertical way, information which is relevant to climate since oceans play a pivotal role in moving heat around the planet, and therefore it has a role to play in the information needed for the models forecasting future climate change. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean has undertaken the project of mapping the ocean floor around Antarctica. It’s obviously a huge undertaking and is now only 23% done, that is of 18.3 million square miles. Not a small feat. They have discovered mountains, canyons, plains, valleys, depressions they did not realize were there. The deepest depression to date called the Factorian Deep is 24,383 feet. That depth means even more when one realizes that Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on the surface of the Earth is 29,032 feet. The undertaking asks ships and boats to use their sonars, and also urges government, institutions and corporations to share their data and put it in the public domain. It is something that is paying off. Much of the information, however, comes from ice strengthened ships that are able to support scientific endeavors. That includes the UK’s RRS James Clark Ross which is soon to be replaced by the aptly named RRS Sir David Attenborough. The nature and size of the project are certainly impressive, their results can’t help but awe us and the fact that it is such an international endeavor given such a fractured world is notable too.
Hairdressers and Domestic Violence
I noticed an article about a law requiring hairdressers in Tennessee to undergo training to recognize signs of domestic abuse as of January 2022. Subsequently, I discovered that Tennessee ranks 5th as the state where women are killed by men. So utilizing any available resource wouldn’t be surprising, still, I was curious why Tennessee and no other states? That’s how I discovered that many other states have similar programs. New York, Illinois, Massachusetts… and to my great surprise that list included Texas or at least certain counties in Texas, with a program that began in 2015 in Brazos County, where about half of violent felonies were from domestic abuse situations. Yet in none of these states is the training extensive but that’s not the point, hairdressers—and barbers—are not therapists–. The point is that hairdressers and barbers are in a unique position. Domestic abuse sufferers will generally not report their predicament to law enforcement but they will share it under the right conditions. And all of us know the freedom one experiences, how open and unfettered we can be while our hair is being cut and fussed with. Hairdressers can notice bruises and cuts, but also they can observe or be taught to observe certain behavior such as self- blame, sudden lifestyle changes, irregular appointments. One hair dresser noticed a bald spot in her client and it turned out that her husband was pulling her hair out. As a rule the task of the hairdressers and barbers is not to report it to law enforcement but to share appropriate resources. That can be something as simple as giving them a phone number or two. In Tennessee it took a while for the law to be passed. The legislature did not want to appropriate funds for the training. Finally a sponsor came through.
Training hairdressers and barbers is such a common-sense approach to a delicate problem. I don ’t know it if is in all states, but I would surmise in time it will be.