Photo by Gusti Ngurah Sugiantara on Unsplash
To download these free stories, please enter the newspaper publication you represent with your email address.
We will email you when we add new stories each month. Thanks!
Note: We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease our contact data or lists to third parties.
Please see our privacy policy for details.
Please enter your organization and email above before downloading these articles.
Download PDF
Word .doc
Download Photo .jpg
Kala has deep ties to her Hawaiian roots. Her ancestors navigated the oceans for centuries using their knowledge of the stars, the sun, the currents and the wind. It’s not that she does it without technology, but rather uses the natural technology around her. It’s called Wayfinding, and was taught to her by her father. “My father was my foundation, my rock,” she says of her first voyage with him from Oahu to Lahaina in a traditional canoe “I knew we would be OK.” He taught her how to read the stars, the ocean swells and how to use them to hold the course. Over 200 stars have specific names and purposes when you are Wayfinding. You have to look at each and determine if they are rising or setting. “You know that this is this star and the direction it represents,” Kala says. “If you can do that, you can use it as a tool to orient.”
During the day, Kala uses the sun until it hits a certain height, when she gets closer to land she looks for certain species of land birds and stationary clouds that indicate there is land below. When Kala sails she feels “very connected to my past and where I came from. I feel very connected to the crew and the canoe. We’re a family.” The longer voyages require Kala to spend hours studying the day and the night skies. It was demanding, physical work. But it also had its moments of awe. For Kala, the beauty is in tying together the past and the present to enjoy the moment. So when she is not sailing, she is teaching Wayfinding skills to school-aged children in hopes of preserving the skills her ancestors relied on.
It’s easy to get lost in the immediacy of the technology of our day, to be consumed by screens and miss the nature that unfolds around us. But if we will take the time to look up, to see the stars and the sun, the way the clouds move, the miracle of life beneath and above us, we will discover something deep inside us, something that will always lead to happiness.
Find Your Way... PassItOn.com®
Copyright ©2022 The Foundation for a Better Life. All rights reserved. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (international): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The Foundation for a Better Life, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, gives your newspaper permission to publish these stories in print and electronic media (excluding audio and video), provided the stories are published in their entirety, without modification and including the copyright notice. For any modification, permission must first be obtained from the Foundation by emailing media-relations@passiton.com. Thank you.
Your CommentsBeyond the Moon with an Eye on Mars.
The story of a young woman who dreamed of pushing the boundaries and now designs launch systems for NASA.
No Matter Who You Are, You Can Always Help.
The day Muhammad Ali rushed to save a stranger who was about to take his own life.
Taking Care.
How one woman turned a life of neglect into a lifetime of taking care of people.
To Stay or Run?
The courageous story of a collegiate wrestler who fought a grizzly bear to save a friend. With thanks to the Cowboy State Daily.
You’re Never Too Old to Make a Difference.
British WWll veteran Captain Tom Moore raised over $45 million for charity at age 100.
Stay Curious.
The remarkable underwater life of Jacques Cousteau.
Don’t Let a Bad Day Trick You Into Believing You Have a Bad Life.
Allie Newman not only survived cancer but also helps hospitals better meet the needs of teenage cancer patients.
Ramping Up to Help those in Need.
How a community came together in a time of tragedy.
Cross Safely.
How one man made sure his retirement years were spent helping kids move safely through life.
No Strings Attached.
How a 7-year-old girl brings joy to neighbors with her violin.
The Legacy of Dorothy Vaughan.
The Hidden Figure who Helped Put a man on the Moon.
Never Give Up.
Lessons learned from Preston Tucker, creator of one of the most innovative cars in American history.
Playtime is for Everybody.
A dad sells off his business and builds a theme park for disabled kids.
The Brotherhood in Sports Goes Beyond the Field.
How a men’s rugby team supported one of their own.
Everybody Gets on Base.
Measuring the victories of life, one single at a time.
Overcoming Fear Sometimes Requires a Patient Friend.
How a flight attendant took the time to comfort a passenger who was having panic attacks.
Taking Care of the Most Vulnerable.
Pam Tully dedicates 6 months a year to rescuing baby flying foxes alongside the volunteers who help her.
Photographs that Changed the World.
How the searing photographs of Walker Evans’ America during the Depression created a national change in attitude toward the poor.
Including Everybody Means Everybody.
How Inclusion Films is making movies using crew with developmental disabilities.
Fix it Yourself.
How one couple moved hundreds of miles from home to run a center for pregnant teenage girls.
The Little Things that Make the Biggest Difference.
How one man created a forest the size of Central Park by planting one tree a day.
Living Alone doesn’t Mean you Have to be Lonely.
How a community in Maine supports those who want to be left alone.
Let the Music Move You.
Bob Geldof has spent a lifetime seeking harmony in the world.
Finding a New Family at the Mountain Man Rendezvous.
How a Vietnam vet pulled himself out of drug addiction by going back in the past.
More Than Just Dancing
How inclusion helps overcome mental illness.
A Custom of Respect.
How the Japanese soccer team brings sportsmanship to the game.
The History of Us.
How a football coach develops young men by teaching them their own history.
Overcoming Our Own Worst Mistakes.
Kaelin Clay made an unpardonable error in football. And he owned it.
It’s Not Your Lifespan, it’s Your Wingspan.
How one girl’s 16 years of life impacts thousands.
The Last Person you Think of Should Probably be the First.
How a group of high school boys practiced the art of inclusion.
Respecting Your Customers.
As the Great Depression impoverished the country, many families stretched their budgets by making clothes out of flour and seed sacks. What companies did next may surprise you.
Bigger than Life.
How Premier League superstar Sadio Mané is changing the world beyond soccer.
If You Love Dogs, You’ll Love this Story.
A German shepherd slept at his owner’s gravesite.
Beatrice Shilling
The motorcycle daredevil who became a mechanical engineer and saved the lives of countless pilots in WWll.
Road Trip Across America.
A discovery of what unites us.
An Impossible Journey.
How John Wesley Powell navigated the Colorado River and Grand Canyon in wooden boats.
The Future Belongs to Kids.
So far, things look pretty bright.
Going the Distance.
Why top collegiate and professional athlete Dillon Shije will never stop running for his people.
Turning Tough News Into Hope.
How 11-year-old Jordan Phillips raised $120,000 to help fund cancer treatment.
Bringing the Moon to your Living Room.
How 14-year-old Philo Farnsworth tinkered his way to the technology that broadcast the moon landing.
Reach for the Stars…
No Matter How Long it Takes.
How Far Would you go for a Friend?
The story of Dindim, the penguin who travels 5,000 miles every year to visit with its rescuer.
Give Peace a Chance.
How a Mexican-American Marine negotiated peace speaking Japanese during WWll.
A Diamond in the Making.
How an everyday superhero saved the day by taking time to go through the garbage to find a stranger’s wedding ring.
Going Deep to Deliver Kindness.
Free-dive record holder Enzo Maiorca rescues a trapped dolphin, then watches as it gives birth.
The World Awaits You.
The story of the first woman to circumnavigate the world.
Born to Make a Difference.
Kids who are changing their world.
Laughter is the Best Medicine.
While filming ‘Schindler’s List,’ weekly calls from Robin Williams helped Steven Spielberg ease the weight of directing such a heavy film.
How to Honor Your Mother.
Warrick Dunn played in the NFL for 12 seasons. His most impressive stat: He’s built 200 homes for single mothers. And he’s not done.
Sometimes the Wrong Direction is the Right Way.
How a wrong number, a wrong text and a mix-up led to long-lasting friendships.
Not Out of the Way, Along the Way.
Taking the long way to school makes for a long friendship.
For Soccer Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Every Day is Mother’s Day.
Fortune and fame have allowed the soccer great to take care of his mother after all she has done for him.
The Art of Pitching.
A little confidence at the right time goes a long way.
Love Rules.
How Rick Moranis shrunk his role as an actor to be with his kids.
Courage in a New World.
The story of Stagecoach Mary, the first Black woman to deliver mail in the Wild West.
Being a Mother…
The roundabout journey to a dream fulfilled.
A Hero for Accessibility.
How an 8-year-old girl captured the attention of the nation and motivated Congress.
The Science of Happiness.
How a high school senior made sure an entire elementary school got Halloween.
Using the Write Words
How an African American Woman Wrote her Way to Freedom.
Teamwork that Saves Lives.
How a high school baseball team lifted a car off one of their classmates pinned underneath.
A Lesson We Should Never Forget.
The incredible story of American POWs smuggling rations to Russian prisoners at Stalag-B.
The Curse of Texting and Driving.
How one father turned personal tragedy into triumph for thousands of teenagers by creating the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund.
Taking Responsibility.
How one high school student supported her family during the pandemic.
Billy Mills
The story behind America’s first and only 10,000-meter Olympic champion.
The Least Likely to Help.
How a bedridden attorney still fights for the rights of others.
If You Don’t Know Anything About Orangutans, You Don’t Know Jack.
Meet Jack Dalton, Barron Prize Winner and the nature conservationist who started by saving the orangutans at age 8.
A Most Unlikely Friendship.
How the war in Ukraine brought two families together from opposite sides.
For the Cost of a Box of Cereal.
How just noticing makes all the difference in the world.
The Birth of Superman.
How two awkward teenage boys dreamed up the world’s most popular superhero.
Listening to the Music Inside.
The long journey of Maria Tallchief from the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to prima ballerina in New York City.
Never, Ever Give Up.
The incredible story of the 12-year-old cancer patient who brings joy to half a million children fighting cancer.
Education is for Everyone.
Reading and writing are the basics of an education. See why a 90-year-old Kenyan great-grandmother went back to primary school.
Everybody Can Be a Hero.
How window cleaners brightened the day at a children’s hospital.
Recognizing the Need.
How a neighbor took a disaffected young man under his wing and taught him how to be a man
How to Land an Airplane Without Landing Gear.
17-year-old Maggie Taraska landed her airplane without landing gear on her way to flying solo cross-country.
Our Local Heroes in Scrubs.
How health care workers saved the day.
Laughter is the Best Teacher.
How humor and history go together in this classroom.
Are You Smarter Than a Seventh-Grade Business Owner?
How Kidpreneur Alejandro Buxton is making money for college and helping others.
The Calm in the Storm.
Being that one voice of encouragement in a community makes all the difference.
When the World Says You Can’t, Listen to the Inner Voice that Says You Can.
The legacy of Susan La Flesche, the first Native American to earn a medical degree.
Let the Kids Give it a Try
How 17-year-old Dasia Taylor developed sutures that detect infection.
Something Healthy for All of Us
How 17-year-old Barron Prize Winners Annie and Shirley Zhu provide fresh food for 1,400 people a year.
Click the like button above to access our facebook page, then ‘like us’ to get a dose of positivity in your feed.
No thanks