In Praise of Heart

Lauren Havens
Raising a Smart Kid
1 min readMar 12, 2016

Since moving from North Carolina to the New York area, I’ve noticed a meanness from the people around me. Maybe I’m just encountering the wrong people, but the proximity to New York City seems to bring out some of the selfishness of people advocating for themselves rather than for the team. It’s even in the small stuff like there being three seats on a busy train with people lined up the aisle and people seeming to mind when you ask to slide in. Two people sitting there. Three seats. Lots of people standing. You can move over, or I will climb across you, punk.

[caption id=”attachment_71931" align=”alignright” width=”160"]

My own silly shelter pups

My own silly shelter pups[/caption]

I like news stories and the like that remind me that not everyone sucks. The video below softens the heart while also communicating a scientifically sound message, that people and dogs can benefit each other in multiple ways. It’s about 6.5 minutes, but it’s worth watching if you have a few minutes. Then go out and save a shelter dog. ;-) Or just don’t grimace at strangers on your commute. It doesn’t have to take much to not be a jerk.

Related NPR story is here.

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