Parenting Advice from Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran, writer, poet, and visual artist, offered parents sage advice on understanding the role of a parent who brings life into the world. In a world that too often overlooks the tenderness and simplicity of children, Gibran reminds us that children are a gift. They do not belong to us as possessions nor do they live to fulfill our dreams. In his great book The Prophet, Gibran says, "You ar... posted on Oct 21 2019, 12,673 reads

While I Yet Live
The quilters of rural Gee's Bend, Alabama, many of whom are descendants of slaves, learned to quilt from their mothers and grandmothers. They also learned, sitting under the quilting table as small children, valuable life lessons, and the hopes and dreams their families had for them. Their brightly colored quilts speak of love, peace, joy, and the value of hard work. Like their mothers and grandmo... posted on Oct 20 2019, 2,810 reads

In Pursuit of Silence
In this thought-provoking piece, George Prochnick, author of "In Pursuit of Silence", calls on us to examine our relationship with the sounds, or their absence, around us. Drawing on the wisdom of Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and others, Prochnick proposes that by shutting ourselves off to the noise of our surroundings, we shut ourselves off to the world, effectively losing our place with... posted on Oct 19 2019, 4,673 reads

Where Climate, Architecture and Kindness Intersect
Many of us want to be "good ancestors"; to give our children and succeeding generations a better world, more opportunity, more abundance than what we enjoyed in our lives. But the course humanity is on does exactly the opposite. For Pete Gang, architect, educator and reluctant climate activist "it just feels so wrong to me to be depriving future generations of at least a liveable planet". Listen t... posted on Oct 18 2019, 2,644 reads

9 Inspiring Stories of Solidarity with Refugees and Migrants
While governments seal borders and erect walls, ordinary people are offering support and shelter. These nine inspiring stories of solidarity will encourage, uplift and incite you to action. Migrant offshore Aid Station rescues migrants along the central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy. Miksaliste helps as many as 1,000 refugees a day in the heart of Belgrade. Lawal Dan Gashua, the Chair of... posted on Oct 17 2019, 2,785 reads

A Message About Messages
The complex meanings of a serious story or novel can be understood only by participation in the language of the story itself. To translate them into a message or reduce them to a sermon distorts, betrays, and destroys them. This is because a work of art is understood not by the mind only, but by the emotions and by the body itself.... posted on Oct 16 2019, 8,810 reads

The Religious Value of the Unknown
In an age when the fate of the world is unknown, George Prochnik makes a case for uncertainty as a form of faith and hope. Restoring a sense of the unknown requires unlearning, calling into question our way of life. In uncertainty, reason fails whereas love guides. This love can be exemplified by those who spend hours practicing arts and handicrafts with no concern for real-world application, but ... posted on Oct 15 2019, 3,242 reads

Teaching Brain Science to Monks and Nuns
Where do compassion and empathy come from? What makes life sentient?
This summer, as they have the past several years, professors from across the United States and elsewhere are traveling to three major Tibetan monastic universities in Southern India to train monastics in the philosophy of science, physics, biology, and neuroscience. Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns have grappled with these ... posted on Oct 14 2019, 2,387 reads

Humanizing Aid with Dignity
A small but increasingly influential British NGO called Refugee Support aims to deliver what it calls "aid with dignity" by adding a sense of normality and respect to its food distribution efforts. Refugee Support co-founders Paul Hutchings and John Sloan met in 2015 in Calais' notorious Jungle camp. They were both drawn to help alleviate the suffering of the thousands of migrants and refugees liv... posted on Oct 13 2019, 1,726 reads

Creative Chaos
The transcendent artistry of Green Renaissance Films allows us to enter into the life of a young man who has journeyed through mental disorder and arrived at a place of wholeness with an openness to the chaos of life. He has come to realize that he does not need to hold fear at bay by trying to order his world, controlling everything. Rather he embraces the chaos and unpredictability of daily livi... posted on Oct 12 2019, 2,569 reads