Leverage Points & the Power to Transcend Paradigms
"Folks who do systems analysis have a great belief in 'leverage points.' These are places within a complex system (a corporation, an economy, a living body, a city, an ecosystem) where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything. This idea is not unique to systems analysis -- it's embedded in legend. The silver bullet, the trimtab, the miracle cure, the secret passage, the mag... posted on Jul 25 2021, 5,554 reads

The Two Driving Forces of Creativity
"Two helpful words to keep in mind at the beginning of any writing adventure are pleasure and spaciousness. If we connect a sense of joy with our writing, we may be inclined to explore further. What's there to find out? Perhaps too much stock has been placed in big ideas or even small ones -- a myth! but regularity seems like a key. Dont start with a big idea. Start with a phrase, a line, a quote... posted on Jul 24 2021, 5,889 reads

Rise Up Again
As we all know but often hesitate to share with others, life can be hard at times. Without community and support, it is even harder. This film highlights the lessons of living with resilience by relying on inner strength held up by the support of community. Mpumelelo Ncwadi from South Africa lives from this wisdom which was passed on by his father who taught him that "You should never live your in... posted on Jul 23 2021, 1,834 reads

Students on Immigration and Unjust Assumptions
The treatment of immigrants and immigration policies in America are hot button topics. These policies, often seen as unlawful and dehumanizing, are catalyzing people across the nation to speak up for change. Prompted by YES! Magazine's student writing competition and Lornet Turnbull's article "Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the "Constitution-Free Zone", eight powerful young voices join this choru... posted on Jul 22 2021, 28,262 reads

Doffing Our Inner Masks: Lessons from Horses
"In this present time, we are being asked to don masks for everyones physical health. Yet at the same time we are being challenged to doff our internal masks for our mental health both individually and as a collective. The horses can support us to remove that inner facade and emerge into a more peaceful and positive future...Interestingly, someone asked me the other day, how do horses deal in time... posted on Jul 21 2021, 6,579 reads

A Counterculture of Commitment
"I have come to believe that this is the defining characteristic of our generation: Keeping our options open. There's this philosopher, Zygmunt Bauman -- he called it "liquid modernity" -- we never want to commit to any one identity or place or community... so we remain, like liquid, in a state that can adapt to fit any future shape. Liquid modernity is Infinite Browsing Mode...but for everything ... posted on Jul 20 2021, 4,621 reads

A Common Humanity: A Conversation with Bob Sadler
One foggy morning 30 years ago Bob Sadler was out looking for the perfect photo along a riverbank. A rowing competition was on. A homeless man happened by, looked at him and said, "I suppose the question for you is--are you an artist or are you just an observer with a camera?" It changed Sadler's life. He thought, "Every corporation that says 'we should pull together' has one of these pictures! Wh... posted on Jul 19 2021, 2,972 reads

Rewilding a Mountain
The sagebrush sea is a landscape of stark beauty and captivating wildlife, yet rapid desertification and extractive industries threaten this vast basin. But at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Southeastern Oregon, a different story unfolds. New aspen explode alongside thriving creeks, migratory birds travel thousands of miles to nest in willow branches, and even the endangered sage grouse... posted on Jul 18 2021, 2,044 reads

The Book of Delights: Ross Gay's Year of Willful Gladness
"On the day he turned 42, the writer Ross Gay set himself a challenge. Every day for a year, he would write an essay about something delightful. He wrote about nicknames, fireflies, reckless air quotes. And about a hundred of those essays are now collected in his new book appropriately enough titled "The Book Of Delights." When he came into our studios, Ross Gay told me that finding those delights... posted on Jul 17 2021, 3,831 reads

Diary of a Young Naturalist
"This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head. It travels from the west of Northern Ireland in County Fermanagh to the east in County Down. It records the uprooting of a home, a change in county and landscape, and at times the de-rooting of my senses and my mind. I'm Dara, a boy, an acorn. Mum used to call me lon dubh (which is Irish for bl... posted on Jul 16 2021, 1,858 reads