Friday, July 17, 2020

we need a dose of cute









So cute! Yes. Yesterday’s Instagram post possum babies were so cute. And according to an article appearing in last December’s Discover magazine that euphoric feeling that engulfs you when you see a baby of any sort including opossums brings out more than your care-giving nature. It also triggers a portion of your brain that fills you with a sense of well-being, empathy, sharing and community.

The article written by Gemma Tarlach goes on to cite several authorities studying cuteness and why it makes us feel intense empathy. Social psychologist Kamilla Knutsen Steinnes and her peers call it kama muta, a Sanskrit term because there is no words in Western language that describes the sudden intensification of communal sharing.  

Kumbaya!! If you are feeling blue, go find something cute to look at. 


And for those on the go, a gram in an Instant. 


Author of Natural HistoriesGhost Birds and Ephemeral by Nature all published by the University of Tennessee Press.




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