Ever Widening Circles
What do 18.2 % of us have that might just change the world? Since March of 2014, I’ve learned it’s three things:
A graceful tendency to be open-minded
A relentless sense of curiosity
A seemingly endless capacity for hope
Congratulations! Whether you are just discovering us here at EverWideningCircles.com (EWC) or you visit us regularly, you are probably in that 18.2%!
You are tuning out fear and tuning in insight!
Together, the “18.2-Percenters” seem to have the right stuff to turn our shared future back to a place where possibility, progress, and wonder are “normal.”
There is a future for us all where the doom and gloom of the current 24-hour news cycle seems out-of-step with reality.
In fact, there is actually a present where all the negativity of the mass media looks wastefully irresponsible because there is actually so much good going on!
And that place is right here at EverWideningCircles.com, where every day we demonstrate this is still an amazing world. We are sharing the wonder that is all around us, with carefully fact-checked articles about the remarkable things happening in science, the arts, technology, extreme sports, space, social improvements and the natural world.
We are pointing the world to the amazing work of thought-leading YouTubers, extraordinary Podcasts, and the very best TED Talks. This list of innovative thinkers goes on and on.
Why 18.2%?
Since the earliest days of the EWC project, we have found that 18.2% of the people who visit once, come back again and again for a daily dose of possibility.
It’s been one of the most delightful surprises. It doesn’t seem to matter whether we are getting 1,500 visitors per month or 60,000; nor whether we are promoting the EWC project in the U.S., Nepal, or Algeria.
Our return visitor rate as always been 18.2%, and we find that incredibly inspiring! 18.2% of your friends, neighbors and fellow travelers on this spinning blue planet are open, curious and hopeful enough to move the world in a better direction.
Celebrating 600
Today we are celebrating over 600 reasons to be open, curious and hopeful!
Over the last 12 months, since our launch in October of 2015, we have published 600 articles that each prove – in every way under the sun – that this is still an amazing world.
And today we look back at the best of the best!
We’ll give you our personal recommendations on the “Must-See” articles in three categories: Most-shared, Hidden Gems, and some of our EWC Team Favorites. (Although that last category is impossible to curate because we only write about the things that all of us agree are remarkably inspiring!)
These curated lists are our gift to the growing EWC community. Make the time to dive into each of these at some point and you will find yourself walking a lot taller. Enjoy!
Oh! And if you love a particular train of thought from any of the articles, just scroll down to the very bottom of that page where you’ll find 6 suggested pieces that continue the theme! (You’ll even find four at the very bottom of this page that will take you to more adventure!)
Six of EWC’s Most-shared…
16 MINUTES
Elephants Never Forget
This beautiful video taught us a lot about the depth of compassion and wonder that still exists in the world. This article remains one of our top- 5 “most viewed” with people from 190+ countries. Take a look and you’ll know why.
12 MINUTES
Gratitude and Wonder with Louie Schwartzberg
Photographer Louie Schwartzberg brings us all to a place of breath-taking beauty, wonder and hope with his TED Talk, remarkable images and the words of wise ones, young and old. This TED Talk leaves us with a sigh and a smile every time we revisit it.
11 MINUTES
Saving the Rainforest with Old Cellphones
How can we police large swaths of endangered rainforest with something we all have at home? The incredible startup Rainforest Connection is taking our old cell phones and giving them a second life as protectors of some of the most at-risk habitat on the planet!
7 MINUTES
Rewilding: What if we had the giants back?
Have you heard much about “megafauna,” the other giants that roamed the earth after the dinosaurs. It turns out they can teach us a lot about rewilding, a process to recover balance in the natural world.
16 MINUTES
Self-Driving Cars: Where Are We At?
How soon will we all be enjoying the freedom and safety of self-driving cars? Here’s a fun look at this innovation that’s closer than we think!
11 MINUTES
It Can All Change In An Instant
Ric Elias was on board “the Miracle of the Hudson,” the US Airways flight that was set to crash before a heroic safe landing by Captain Sully. Learn what went through Elias’ mind as the doomed plane went down in the icy water.
Six of EWC’s Hidden Gems…
(These are articles you might not dive into, but should! They are all real “game-changers.” Some have insights that are completely counter-intuitive others use humor to transform our perspectives.)
13 MINUTES
What can camels teach us about fundamental truths?
We all know where camels come from, right? A new origin story for these strange creatures is changing how we think about things we take as “fact.” Check out this hilarious TED Talk from Latif Nasser.
17 MINUTES
Karen Thompson: What Fear Can Teach Us!
DON’T MISS THIS hidden gem!.. If you are turning your back on all the fear and malice in the news media these days, this TED Talk is a really fun and “game changing” insight! I use it almost every day.
30 MINUTES
Have a Little Faith!
Zach Anner is a comedian with cerebral palsy who is a self-proclaimed “religious idiot.” On his quest to learn more about the religions of the world, he takes us on an incredible journey that is as hilarious as it is enlightening! Check out our new favorite YouTube series here at EWC!
10 MINUTES
A Photographer’s Life Changing Stories
Photographers bring the world to our living rooms and have witnessed much of life on this planet. Here are two stories that changed one photographer’s life, and the lessons they taught him…
46 MINUTES
Kevin Kling’s “The Losses and Laughter We Grow Into”
Good comedian/story-tellers leave us with smiles that transform us forever. Here is a delightful conversation with one of the best. This guy can help us grow into our losses.
7 MINUTES
Life Lessons from Beetles with Bubbles
Can beetles remind us of some important life lessons? Let us introduce you to the riffle beetle, a fascinating little water beetle who has a lot to teach us!
Six of EWC’s Team Favorites…
47 MINUTES
Can Animals Communicate Deep Thoughts and Emotions?
Have you ever had an experience with an animal that left you certain that animals have rich emotional lives and thoughts we might relate to very well? Today’s feature will make you feel very wise.
9 MINUTES
Rita Pierson was a Champion for Every Kid
Enjoy an inspiring, funny and remarkable talk about the education that every one of us wishes we had. What a wonderful insight! Take a look…
23 MINUTES
What if trash pick-up was annual?
What if you could save money, time, your conscience, and fit your entire year’s worth of trash in a mason jar! This is surprisingly very doable!
30 MINUTES
Radiating Possibility or the Downward Spiral? Our choice!
Do you ever get caught up in a “downward spiral”, either in conversations or trains of thought? Here’s a world-renowned teacher to share a fascinating alternative mindset: radiating possibility!
130 MINUTES
New Light on the Dawn of Humanity
As scientists continue to uncover the origins of our humanity, this discovery in an unlikely place by an unlikely team may be the missing link to our ancient ancestors.
18 MINUTES
Secrets to the “Happiness Advantage” at Work
Want to be happier at work? Solid science predicts we actually control 90% of our happiness and only 10% is related to our circumstances! Today, Shawn Anchor tells us how to nurture the “happiness advantage” in our work and home. Amazing!
CONTINUING THE TRANSFORMATION…
Well, I hope you’ve taken a little journey with EWC today by opening into some of these fabulous reminders of the fact that this is still an amazing world. Best of all, you can come back to this article for weeks whenever you need to feel elevated!
Our goal is to change the negative dialogue about our world and it turns out the growing EWC community might just be able to do this! So many people around the planet seem ready for a place on the web with no agenda, celebrating insights we could almost all agree upon.
On this day of our 600th article, we have over 100,000 views a month from places as diverse as Cambodia, Belgium, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.
We have 180,000 Facebook page-fans, with 10,000 from Afghanistan, 20,000 from India, 7000 in Mongolia, and tens of thousands more from places we could never imagine.
Now we have globally famous authors, Nat Geo Photographers and other thought leaders helping to expand our community.
Maybe there’s a common chord running through many of us that still craves the promise of innovation, beauty, and creativity?
But I found it was becoming harder to fight that fight of staying positive alone. Have you ever felt “back to the wall”, so hopeless about the future that you are ready to throw up your hands like so many people seem to do?
I was nearly there in the winter of 2015, and the EWC project you are discovering now is the result of my effort to transform more than just myself. I knew there was a better world out there that the media was not celebrating anymore.
At first, the task of finding, carefully fact-checking and writing was like climbing a rock wall, making the most of every toe hold.
But eventually, we found an opening in that rock wall and burst through it.
And now we are on top of that bluff and can see the horizon.
It’s clear ahead, folks!
There are so many great things going on that our team does not have time to bring you all of them! (You can read our story, mission, and team bios if you are curious.)
Liesl and I have published 600 articles, but we still have over 600 in draft! And every day, more things to be celebrated keep coming our way!
You can join us, partner with us, on this project if you are inspired. There are so many ways to help, even in your spare time.
Otherwise, just make it a routine to drop by daily for a bit of insight and wonder. You can subscribe to find our daily article right in your inbox. Share EWC with people who you might think are in that curious and still hopeful 18.2%.
And thanks for joining our growing community from over 190 countries. You are making the world a better place, just by learning more about it!
Stay open, curious and hopeful!
~ Dr. Lynda