Empathy... something to learn from rats

Seems rats deserve a great deal more respect that we give them according to a Washington Post article, "You dirty rat? Experiments show rats aren't selfish, but caring creatures." It turns out that when a rat observes a peer in a crowded cage it works diligently to free it, often even denying themselves chocolate before aiding their fellow rat.

Pair of Mallard ducks

I observed some Mallard ducks in a creek while on a walk today.  It seemed like this pair of males were inseparable.  They swam together, almost in a synchronized formation. Certainly did appear from my casual observation that they were there for each other. On a recent road trip to Michigan I observed thousands of Canada Geese in their V formations. They know about the advantage of flying together in formation to reduce wind resistance.

In the U.S. we hear so often of principle of the "survival of the fittest". Seems that many of our furry and feathered friends know how to work cooperatively together. They even form symbiotic relationships between species.

The rat study author, Peggy Mason, from the University of Chicago quipped that if rats can be so caring and helpful “there’s a sense of optimism. It’s something we could be.”

Volunteer, its good for your longevity!

Flowers by water's edge

A recent study discovered altruistic volunteers live longer than those who don't volunteer, or those who volunteer simply for personal gain. This research was conducted by Sara Konrath, and others from the University of Michigan, and is reported in a Health Psychology article "Motives for Volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older adults."  The study utilized longitudinal data collected from a group of Wisconsin residents who graduated form high school in 1957.

There is a problem for you and I, now that we've been made aware of the potential to increase our lifespan through volunteering.  It diminishes some of the altruistic motivation for volunteering, hence potentially wiping out the gains available to those who volunteer more for altruistic reasons...

So, now that you know about one more benefit of volunteering, pretend like you never heard it.  Speaking from personal experience, one of the benefits of growing older is that the ability to forget is enhanced!