WINSTON WEEKLY©^[1]

March 2, 2025

Vol. 3, No. 9

MEANINGFUL MOMENTS

Between the events of the past week and learning that $215,000 is the value of today’s Oscars’ swag bag,^[2] this month’s theme is “meaningful moments.” As Anne Frank said, “Human goodness does not lie in wealth and power, but in character and goodness.” From reading books to visiting your local library, meaningful moments abound at little to no cost. Such moments provide value and create character and goodness. As one writer said, “[A]sserting that reading can fix the world’s problems would be naive at best. But it could help make it a more empathetic place.”

Today is Read Across America Day, the start of Read Across America Week. Read Across America is celebrated annually on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Suess, to promote reading and literacy. The Reader’s Oath for Read Across America states in part:

I promise to read

each day and each night.

I know it’s the key

to growing up right.

…

          Each book that I read

          puts smarts in my head.

          ‘Cause brains grow more thoughts

the more they are read.

The structure of stories encourages our brains to “think in sequence, linking cause and effect. The more you read, the more your brain is able to adapt to this line of thinking.”

THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITY

Consider how to foster character and goodness and create meaningful moments through reading. For more inspiration, check out Natcole Staskiewicz, the person behind last year’s collaboration with McDonald’s for World Kindness Day. www.kinderpress.org.

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[1] A Sunday newsletter and blog by Alysen Bayles to be shared with the appropriate attribute.

[2]Resources: Megan Schmidt, How Reading Fiction Encourages Empathy and Understanding, Aug. 28, 2020, www.discovermagazine.com; Your Brain on Books: 10 Things That Happen to Our Minds When We Read, www.oedb.org; Distinctive Assets, the marketing company for the bags says they are a way to support small businesses. As the mother of a small business owner, there are far more impactful ways to support small businesses.