HARP Publishing the People's Press

08/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1abiLgrzDD/

🧠✨ New research shows creativity isn’t just good for the soul — it may play an important role in keeping the brain healthier and more resilient over time!

A new analysis from the Jameel Arts & Health Lab found that people with creative expertise showed a younger brain profile than non-experts, using advanced “brain clock” models to measure brain age.

Even more compelling, brain regions most vulnerable to aging showed stronger connectivity linked to creative engagement, suggesting the arts may support brain efficiency, adaptability, and long-term cognitive health. 🎨🎶🕺

Whether you’re creating art, making music, dancing, or learning a new creative skill, these findings point to the powerful connection between creativity and brain health.

Read the full study ➡️ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64173-9

08/01/2026

Ireland has a long memory from the past where the wind blows the stories through the 32 counties ☘️

08/01/2026

National Ribbon Skirt Day is a day dedicated to celebrating identity and resilience, and to understanding, respecting and supporting Indigenous cultures and histories. It was inspired by the experience of young Isabella Kulak, an Indigenous girl from Saskatchewan who was shamed for wearing a ribbon skirt to a formal dress day at her school.

In 2022, the Anishinabek Police Service became the first law enforcement agency in Ontario to incorporate traditional ribbon skirts into its standard police uniform for events and ceremonies where a police-issued duty belt isn’t required. The skirts, which feature black, yellow, red and white ribbons, were the idea of then-Sgt. Karen Bell, now Chief of Garden River First Nation.

Ribbon skirts are worn by many Indigenous people as part of their traditional regalia. Considered sacred, they are a symbol of identity, resilience, strength and survival, often connecting the wearer to culture and kinship.

08/01/2026

At Grandmother’s Voice, we believe remembering is not something you think.
It is something you feel, somewhere behind the ribs,
where grief and gratitude meet
and decide to stay.

There are songs that do not belong to any one voice.
They rise the way winter loosens its hold,
the way spring remembers how to open,
the way summer carries fire in its hands,
the way fall teaches us how to let go —
only to find ourselves back in winter again.

This is the circle our Ancestors trusted.
Not the straight line.
Not the finish.
The return.

Ribbon skirts are not made to be looked at.
They are made to walk in —
to carry memory in colour,
to let the body remember belonging before the mind ever does.

At Grandmother’s Voice, we believe remembering is not something you think.
It is something you feel, somewhere behind the ribs,
where grief and gratitude meet
and decide to stay.

Today we offer a reflection on what it means
when culture is allowed to move again —
not loudly, not for permission,
but the way seasons do:
inevitable, patient, alive.

🪶 Read more at https://grandmothersvoice.com/when-a-ribbon-skirt-moves-the-ancestors-move-with-it/ or by visiting the blog on our website.

With love for all who carry these teachings forward.

08/01/2026

one stitch at a time

These retired Italian tailors are giving shelter residents something money can't buy. Every week, they arrive with their vintage sewing machines and decades of expertise, but what they're really restoring goes far beyond torn fabric. They search through old button tins for the perfect match, reshape collars with precision, and turn a simple repair into an act of dignity. Watch how a needle and thread can change someone's entire day.

08/01/2026

"The task is not to suppress this hunger but to redirect it toward unity rather than fear." 👉🏼🔥 https://elejrnl.com?p=4207813

08/01/2026

https://www.writersdigest.com/the-heart-of-writing-why-your-voice-still-matters-in-the-age-of-ai

We need to draw attention to degenerative AI. Here is my recent writing and image of the AI monster that has been unleashed on the world. Very likely flawed and real and rambling. https://tryhealingarts.ca/now-is-the-time-of-ai-monsters-an-epiphany/

In the liminal space between 2025 holiday festivities—Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa—and Little Christmas (Epiphany) on January 6, 2026, coinciding with the return to work and school, our use of artificial intelligence, or AI, has reached a pivotal point for HARP The People’s Press. (And unfo...

08/01/2026

in a single take, Kamakawiwo'ole recorded the iconic version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" that would soon touch countless people across the globe.

At 3 AM one night in 1988, Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole called a local studio and said he needed to record something right then and there. He pleaded with the engineer: "Please, can I come in? I have an idea."

Then, in a single take, Kamakawiwo'ole recorded the iconic version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" that would soon touch countless people across the globe. The recording, featuring just Kamakawiwo'ole's voice and ukulele, seemed to captivate everyone who heard it in a way that was utterly unforgettable. ⁠Even after Kamakawiwo'ole died in 1997 at just 38 years old, his music and his short yet inspiring life have continued to have a profound effect on people the world over:

(pics in cmt)

08/01/2026

sacred rage

“Stay angry, little Meg,” Mrs Whatsit whispered. “You will need all your anger now.”
A Wrinkle in Time

08/01/2026

Teach us to be radical,
Grant that I may seek rather
to do justice than to talk about it;

LORD, MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF DISTURBANCE

Lord make me a channel of your
disturbance.
Where there is apathy, let me provoke,
Where there is silence, may I be a voice,
Where there is too much comfort,
and too little action,
Grant disruption.
Where there are doors closed
and hearts locked,
Grant me the willingness to listen.
When laws dictate and pain is
overlooked . . .
When tradition speaks
louder than need. . .
Our own church . . .
Our own poor . . .
Disturb us, O Lord,
Teach us to be radical,
Grant that I may seek rather
to do justice than to talk about it;
To be with as well as for the poor;
To love the unlovable as well as
the lovely;
To touch the passion of Jesus in the
Pain of those we meet;
To accept responsibility to be church.
Lord, make me a channel of your
disturbance.

~Gina Kohlhelpp

08/01/2026