A sudden gust of wind sent an 8-month-old baby’s stroller rolling into Lake Michigan at Chicago’s Belmont Harbor and within seconds, strangers were in the water. Lio Cundiff jumped in without hesitation, while nearby resident Luis Kapost steadied them with the sleeve of his jacket and helped coordinate the rescue, reported Chicago Sun-Times.
With the help of bystanders who called 911 and tossed a life ring, the baby was pulled to safety and is in good condition. Cundiff, later hospitalized for precautionary testing, brushed off the word “hero,” saying he was simply in the right place at the right time. It’s proof that in critical moments, ordinary people often choose courage, together.
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COOKING UP CHANGE
In Marrakesh, Morocco, a nonprofit is using food as a pathway to freedom for women. Amal, founded in 2012, trains women facing economic hardship in professional culinary skills – everything from traditional Moroccan dishes to French cuisine and sushi – to help them build careers in a country with one of the highest gender gaps in the world.
According to Reasons to be Cheerful, each year, about 30 women receive not only chef training but language classes, life coaching, stipends, and job placement support. The results are tangible: 87% of graduates work in the culinary sector, with many increasing their earnings two to five times over. Beyond income, Amal offers confidence, autonomy, and the chance for women to shape their own futures, one recipe at a time.
Eighteen-year-old Ty Sperle is the first person in the world to be cured of a rare and life-threatening immune disorder through a gene-editing treatment. After years of hospitalizations and daily medication for chronic granulomatous disease, his now corrected blood stem cells produce infection-fighting white blood cells, according to the Vancouver Sun.
For Sperle, his future is no longer shaped by constant risk. For researchers and families facing rare diseases, it signals something bigger. Gene editing is moving from theory to reality, powered by global collaboration and public health investment. As Ty put it, “We’re definitely at a turning point in medicine,” where possibility is expanding in real time.
Flourishing in life isn’t a solo pursuit, but a shared, joyful growth built in community. In a recent conversation with mindbodygreen, author Daniel Coyle argues that the science of a meaningful life points less to personal optimization and more to connection.
Research shows we thrive when we shift from narrow, task-driven focus to broader, relational attention in choices that bring us back to each other. Whether it’s reaching out to an old friend with no agenda or creating shared moments in difficult times, flourishing grows through repeated acts of presence. As Coyle puts it, joy is renewable, and meaning is built in showing up together, again and again.
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CHASING SAKURA
Cherry blossom season is one of spring’s most joyfully-awaited rituals. From Newark’s Branch Brook Park (home to the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the U.S.), to canal-side blooms in Copenhagen and festival-filled streets in Macon, Georgia, destinations around the world are celebrating sakura in full color.
Photo by Travelarium, courtesy of Vecteezy
Condé Nast Traveler shares how travelers can chase petals by train through Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, stroll Portland’s Japanese Garden, drive through pink and yellow roads on South Korea’s Jeju Island, or even tour D.C.’s Tidal Basin with a retired park ranger. Whether by boat, bike, or quiet morning walk, the message is the same: for a few fleeting weeks this month and next, cities will soften, streets will glow, and nature will remind us to pause and look up.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: CHERRY BLOSSOMS BY ANN MCCLELLAN
The Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival*
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