I Am Not I: Jacob Needleman on How We Become Who We Are
In 'I Am Not I' Jacob Needleman delves into the timeless, searching questions of humanity. "Out of the inquiry itself arises an immensely hope-giving offering -- a sort of secular sacrament illuminating what lies at the heart of the most profound experiences we're capable of having: joy, love, hope, wonder, astonishment, transcendence." Maria Popova shares more.... posted on Dec 24 2016, 10,833 reads

Greater Good's Top 16 Books of 2016
The Greater Good Science Center sponsors and disseminates cutting-edge research on well-being in order to "foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society." Here, the editors share their picks for the year's most thought-provoking, important, or useful books on the science of a meaningful life.... posted on Dec 23 2016, 30,096 reads

The Women Who Restored Jungles
When a governmental effort to encourage cash crops threatened their food security and native land, India's indigenous families came together to revive their traditional food systems.... posted on Dec 22 2016, 11,709 reads

From Stands with Fists to Dances with Wolves
"For three quarters of my life, I have been like the character in the film Dances with Wolves whose Lakota name translates to Stands with Fists." As many of you can attest (Mom), ever since I was young, I stood with fists when confronted with something with which I was not in agreement. Not only would I physically stand rigidly with my hands clenched into fists, but I would also argue until my fac... posted on Dec 21 2016, 10,420 reads

Facing Homelessness
Rex Hohlbein can't tell you why he stopped to offer tea to the homeless man sleeping outside his architecture office one day, but he did, and that split-second decision to follow his intuition, changed his life. In a span of 5 years, Hohlbein has given up his architecture career to advocate for the homeless by changing public perception of who they are. He asks you to see the person, rather than t... posted on Dec 20 2016, 5,086 reads

Can Virtuous Habits Be Cultivated?
Does doing what is right require strenuous effort to resist the alluring temptations of vice -- to resist selfish impulses and push yourself to do what moral duty prescribes? Is virtue hard work or could it become a habit -- that is, a relatively effortless, automatic tendency to do what is morally right, with a minimum of inner struggle? The answer to this question, crucial for understanding and ... posted on Dec 19 2016, 14,304 reads

Inside the Rush to Preserve Indigenous Languages
A good puppet has to be liked, so Binnabannas was given a pair of friendly brown eyes, a set of uneven blue antlers, and leather shoes with red trim and curled toes reminiscent of samiske komagers, the traditional reindeer skin shoes worn by the Sami, the indigenous people of Northern Europe...Binnabannas's main goal is to keep the Sami language alive in the next generation, but the character may ... posted on Dec 18 2016, 7,995 reads

How to Only Do Things You Actually Want to Do
"Can you remember the last time your to-do list was short enough to be, well, do-able? How about the last time you looked at your list and actually wanted to do everything on it?" Christine Carter, Senior Fellow at the Greater Good Science Center, started getting loads of requests for help managing too-long task lists. Recognizing that ineffective task lists make us feel like we have too much to ... posted on Dec 17 2016, 22,987 reads

Maya Angelou: The Day I Learned the Value of a Smile
"My paternal grandmother who raised me had a remarkable influence on how I saw the world and how I reckoned my place in it. She was the picture of dignity. She spoke softly and walked slowly, with her hands behind her back, fingers laced together. I imitated her so successfully that neighbors called me her shadow. "Sister Henderson, I see you got your shadow with you again." Grandmother would look... posted on Dec 16 2016, 24,891 reads

Shoulders
In his moving creation, Kindred's Artist-in-Residence, Daniel Sperry gives voice and music to Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "Shoulders", a poem that speaks "directly to the connection between what we do as parents and the prospect of living in a world where we take care of each other in that same careful, and tender way." Sperry's transcendent work connects with and inspires those "on the quest ...to... posted on Dec 15 2016, 10,083 reads