Translating Meaning Into Life: A Taoist Parable
"During a time of great drought, a Taoist master was asked by members of a village if he could help bring rain to their dry fields. They confessed trying many other approaches before reaching out to him, but with no success. The master agreed to come and asked for a small hut with a garden that he could tend. For three days, he tended the garden, performing no special rituals or asking anything fu... posted on Dec 29 2020, 44,265 reads

The Clarinet in the Attic
"Pat and Peter went together to the doctor's appointment. In their eighties, theyd been married over sixty years. Pat was a poet; Peter, a retired minister. The specialist confirmed an earlier diagnosis: Peter was suffering from dementia, cause unknown. Some "accident in the brain" was robbing him of his short-term memory. Every ten or fifteen minutes, his mind would reboot, and he lost all recoll... posted on Dec 28 2020, 5,737 reads

Barry Lopez: Lyrical Writer and Thoreau of Our Times
Acclaimed writer Barry Lopez who dedicated a lifetime to exploring the kindred bond between humans and nature, passed away this year on Christmas Day. The legacy he leaves behind in his powerful writing has never been more relevant. "Pay attention to the mystery. Apprentice to the best apprentices. Rediscover in nature your own biology. Write and speak with appreciation for all you have been gifte... posted on Dec 27 2020, 5,863 reads

Art for the Sky
Daniel Dancer is an art-activist who creates and films gigantic living paintings made of people that only make sense from the sky. Why? To bring people together, often young students, to create flashes of beauty that teach tangibly about the power of unity, the importance of nature, and the impermanence of just about everything. Listen as Dancer elaborates on the many lessons that the community ca... posted on Dec 26 2020, 2,417 reads

When Love Rescued Christmas
At the tail-end of a year full of disasters, Laura Grace Weldon experienced a breakdown moment as she considered her children's empty Christmas stockings. Read on to hear how her 11-year-old daughter's heartfelt and hilarious response restored her perspective, and inspired a beautiful, anonymous act of generosity towards another family in crisis.... posted on Dec 25 2020, 6,364 reads

Top 10 Insights from the Science of a Meaningful Life
"This year's top insights speak to the moment, from concrete tips about how to bond with a friend to broader truths about how societies respond to diversity over time. All of them point toward strengths and solutions amid isolation, illness, and conflict. The final insights were selected by experts on our staff, after soliciting nominations from our network of more than 300 researchers. We hope th... posted on Dec 24 2020, 9,067 reads

Winter Solstice: Blessing for the Longest Night
"This week, in addition to preparing for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, many congregations will offer a "Longest Night" or "Blue Christmas" service. Usually held on or near the Winter Solstice, this gathering provides a space for those who are having a difficult time during the holidays or simply need to acknowledge some pain or loss they are carrying in the midst of this season of cele... posted on Dec 23 2020, 28,121 reads

Learning to Love Winter's Night
"I have put on good attitudes before and found ways of accepting situations --thankfully, I found ways out of some--while creating the semblance of normalcy. But for me, a change of attitude wasn't enough. It didn't go deep enough. It wasn't always reliable. In order to live happily in Toronto, I needed to be able to love deeply, loving the people who live here and the place where I live. And espe... posted on Dec 22 2020, 3,401 reads

A Case for Wonder
"Karl Barth once described theology as 'necessarily the logic of wonders,' and the same 'logic' should suffuse education. If we can cultivate the capacity for wonder in ourselves, and if we can foster it in others, then we might step into a more compelling and magical world. Inhabiting such a place would grant us a particular kind of grace, in which the familiar would never grow old, the unfamilia... posted on Dec 21 2020, 4,300 reads

The Land Has Memory
"The denial and fear of death makes possession, possessiveness, and overconsumption possible. If we would just pull back a bit, slow down, and ask the "why" of each of our actions, based on the utter assurance of death, we would all be better off environmentally." Playwright, poet, and essayist Cherrie Moraga sees the world as a place where the body knows and "the land has memory." "Her writings h... posted on Dec 20 2020, 3,307 reads