The Rabbit Effect: Spread Kindness (8/8/21) | Music & The Spoken Word

The Rabbit Effect: Spread Kindness (8/8/21) | Music & The Spoken Word

Music and the Spoken Word broadcast with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. With conductor Mack Wilberg and guest conductor Anton Armstrong, organist Andrew Unsworth, and Lloyd Newell as announcer.

Opening Credits (0:00)
1) Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (1:08)
German hymn tune, arranged by Mack Wilberg, lyrics by Joachim Neander, translated by Catherine Winkworth
2) All Things Bright and Beautiful (4:17)
John Rutter, lyrics by Cecil Frances Alexander
3) Salvation (Organ Solo) (7:04)
Gilbert M. Martin
4) Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain (w/ Anton Armstrong conducting) (9:07)
Carolyn Jennings, lyrics adapted from Isaiah 40
5) Antiphon, from Five Mystical Songs (w/ Anton Armstrong conducting) (13:10)
Ralph Vaughan Williams, lyrics by George Herbert
6) Of Kindness and Rabbits (Spoken Word) (17:04)
7) Love One Another (19:53)
Luacine Clark Fox, arranged by Mack Wilberg
8) How Firm a Foundation (22:54)
Attributed to J. Ellis, arranged by Mack Wilberg, lyrics attributed to Robert Keen


Of Kindness and Rabbits
By Lloyd Newell

Decades ago, researchers measured the effects of diet on the heart health of rabbits. Not surprisingly, rabbits that were fed fatty foods developed cholesterol problems. But something else was surprising—one group of rabbits had significantly better health outcomes. They had eaten the same foods as the other rabbits, but they had also been cared for by a particular researcher—one who happened to be “an unusually kind and caring individual.” She didn’t just feed the rabbits. “She talked to them, cuddled and petted them.” She didn’t know she was altering the results—she was just being herself.

Suddenly this wasn’t just an experiment about genetics and diet. These researchers were learning that relationships matter too. A recent book titled The Rabbit Effect cites these findings and concludes, “Ultimately, what affects our health in the most meaningful ways has … much to do with how we treat one another, how we live, and how we think about what it means to be human.”

In other words, “the rabbit effect” could just as easily be called “the human effect.”

So many seem so angry as they interact with others—online and in person. Some are raging inside at the outside world, annoyed and impatient with people around them as well as themselves. Even many who aren’t openly hostile have simply become cold, distant, and impersonal. And we wonder why general health and happiness suffer, why peace and calm are so elusive.

Humans, perhaps even more than rabbits, need kindness and caring, affection and love in order to thrive. No one can flourish in an atmosphere of contention and animosity. When we are kind—even if others don’t return the favor—we carry a healthy inner peace, knowing we have generated light instead of heat. When we sincerely care for and about others, we spread compassion and helpfulness more freely throughout the world. And in the process, we create a healthier, happier environment for everyone.

If cuddling a rabbit can lower its cholesterol, imagine what can happen if we look around and reach out in simple, loving ways to people around us. That’s the power of human kindness.

Episode aired August 8, 2021, Broadcast Number 4795.


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