So we're going to dig into that. But first I really want to ask you, when you hear climate change, how bummed out do you get? Where does it live in your heart? Let's just be honest about it. And what are the things that you do in your life that you think actually make a difference? Or are you just sitting there thinking, I can't make a difference, it's too big. But let's get to the emotion behind this
Jiaying Zhao
@jz_the_prof · 0:26
You. Hey, Deborah. Thanks for having me. Hi. Everyone, this is Jay Z. Maybe let's start small. Let's forget about climate change for a while. Let me ask you a question. What makes you happy? What makes you feel excited, hopeful? What brings you joy on a daily basis? I would love to hear these answers
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:47
Hey, Jay Z, I love how you're reverse engineering this. And I'm going to play with this. It's awesome. And I just invited a bunch of people, and I really like this, so I'm going for it. What brings me joy is to see the abundance of nature around me and to walk into it and to lie in it and to eat it and to grow it and to feel basic joy with you. Sort of that primal sense of yumminess. Yeah
Rena Strober
@RenaS · 1:09
I work with a lot of children in finding their voice, and when they do that and they suddenly take hold of who they are or take up space in the world, I feel so good. My also other joy comes from being on stage entertaining people. But I also live in Los Angeles
Jiaying Zhao
@jz_the_prof · 1:23
Hi, Deborah. Thanks for your answer. I really like your answer because that's one of the most popular answers I've been getting from people. And people feel generally very happy being in nature, taking a walk, biking, running in nature. And this is something that has been very well documented in literature that says exposure to nature, connecting with nature actually makes us happy
Jiaying Zhao
@jz_the_prof · 2:34
Now, granted that this is still a small study with only 102 hundred participants, but that was the number one finding we have. And right after gardening, the second most happy activity is hiking. So this again goes back to what I said to Deborah getting outdoors, being nature actually is very good for our own well being. So, yeah, get out more and garden more if you can. Now, I also recognize that not everybody can garden