Gardening and the Secret of Happiness
"By a shower of gifts and a heavy rain of lessons," a good mother loves her children. This is how author and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer came to the awakening of true happiness as she realized that the time spent and lost in her garden were the happiest moments of her days. Like her children lost in the wonder of digging in the soil, Kimmerer saw what was most important in her life as she was pic... posted on Nov 18 2018, 8,053 reads

The Man on a Mission to End Loneliness
Mike Niles had a high paying job in London, but felt that something was missing from his life. He gave up his lucrative position to start a charity, b:Friend, to help to eliminate loneliness among isolated elders. In Niles' home town of Doncaster, a quarter of its elderly population is classified as "chronically lonely" by Age UK. An idea that took root after he visited an elderly neighbor who was... posted on Nov 17 2018, 3,220 reads

New Approaches to Healing Collective Conflict and Trauma
The challenge facing seven billion plus people now living on the planet is how to recreate the Third Side for today's conflicts ranging from those with our neighbors to nuclear conflicts. William Ury is one of the world's leading experts on negotiation, co-founder of Harvard's Program on Negotiation, co-author of Getting to Yes, author of multiple award-winning books, and founder of the Abraham Pa... posted on Nov 16 2018, 9,021 reads

K9s for Warriors: Together We Stand
Sometimes it's not the human who rescues the dog, but the dog who rescues the human. K9s for Warriors, a program based out of Ponte Verda, Florida, was established in 2011 to help soldiers experiencing PTSD and other war trauma disabilities. The dogs are trained to be service dogs and address symptoms in their owners such as anxiety, isolation, depression, and nightmares, often serving in conjunct... posted on Nov 15 2018, 10,566 reads

A Modern Elder Muses on Gratitude in Silicon Valley
What defines the modern elder? Wisdom? Success? Or something different altogether? In this article, Chip Conley reflects on his transition to a Silicon Valley tech startup at the age of 52, following a career in the hospitality industry. Surrounded by much younger coworkers, or "the land of the Millennials", Chip quickly realized that being an elder today is less about reverence and more about rel... posted on Nov 14 2018, 6,355 reads

The Boy Who Wanted to Go to School
With hard work, determination, a little serendipity, and a lot of heart, Wubetu Shimelash made it all the way from a remote region of Ethiopia to a prominent U.S. university. This man who once fashioned sandals out of tires now dons a fedora and impresses everyone with his positive attitude, joyous spirit, and infectious smile. It is a story of true success--both for him personally, and for the co... posted on Nov 13 2018, 19,841 reads

How to Break the Loop of Our Destructive Patterns
When we're afraid, we often find ourselves caught up in habitual ways of responding that fail to bring us the relief we seek. "To keep repeating a baleful pattern without recognizing that we are caught in its loop is one of life's greatest tragedies; to recognize it but feel helpless in breaking it is one of our greatest trials; to transcend the fear of uncertainty, which undergirds all such patte... posted on Nov 12 2018, 11,504 reads

The Dilemmas of Being a Benefactor
Carolyn North dreamed of removing land from the speculative market economy and putting it into the public trust in order to challenge our assumptions about "private property." A few years ago she found herself with the opportunity to follow through. However, she wanted and needed time, to plan and process. She discovered that being capable is not the same thing as being in control. Then a farm ca... posted on Nov 11 2018, 7,351 reads

Letters from Max: A Book of Friendship
"In 2012, Sarah Ruhl was a distinguished author and playwright, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Max Ritvo was an exuberant, opinionated, and highly gifted poet in remission from pediatric cancer. Studded with poems and songs, their correspondence is a deeply moving portrait of a friendship, and a shimmering exploration of love, art, mortality, and joy." What follows is an excerpt from 'Le... posted on Nov 10 2018, 4,893 reads

Proust On Memory and Madeleines
"But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more immaterial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their ... posted on Nov 09 2018, 38,690 reads