One of the few is that kindness usually cultivates connection, something we yearn for in a time-pressed, ear-to-the- cell-phone culture.

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Calling the anti-Springbok posturing by politicians "old-fashioned, anti-reconciliation and counter-productive to fashioning the united non-racial society we yearn for", Mr Asmal said the Springbok now belonged to all South Africans.

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But aging for most isn't about a rapidly degenerative disease like ALS. Most of us face aging on our 30th, 40th and 50th birthdays -- when we yearn for the carefree days of youth.

CNN: Tuesdays with Morrie

As Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer suggest in The Progress Principle, we all yearn for more meaningful work where we get to use our best talents together, aptly supported by social enterprise software that leverages our capacity to accomplish greater things together.

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In our work lives, our businesses, and our relationships, we often yearn for tranquility.

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Uneven as our attempts will inevitably be, these seem like bountiful rewards, because we all yearn for them.

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That is why my wife and I decided to perpetuate the cultural myth of Santa Claus with our kids because their little hearts and minds seem to yearn for mystery and fantasy, and because we both seemed to gain more than we suffered from that well-meaning parental deception.

FORBES: Teaching Your Kids About Santa And Money (Spoiler Alert)