What Science Taught Me About Gratitude, Compassion & Awe
Dacher Keltner, world renowned psychologist and researcher credited with expanding the field of science to include emotions, offers thought leadership that can shift our cultural narrative towards kindness and care. He shows us that the levels of the basic human nervous system include compassion (through experiments in which images of human suffering lit up the subjects' mammalian nervous system),... posted on Nov 04 2016, 31,390 reads

How to Raise an Environmentalist
"From climate change to overfishing to deforestation, it seems that we are on the brink of a natural disaster on an epic scale. If we cannot do something to reverse these trends, we will surely make our planet uninhabitable." So, what could spur people, especially children, into action? "Research indicates that motivating people to care takes more than just reciting facts and making doomsday predi... posted on Nov 03 2016, 12,447 reads

Cafe Momentum: Serving Second Chances
At a Texas restaurant staffed by ex-offenders, young men ditch criminal backgrounds to roast, toast and saute high-end cuisine. That restaurant was created by Chef Chad Houser who realized that the inmates who he was teaching cooking were more than his pre-conceived stereotypes and deserved a second chance: "When he arrived in the kitchen, none of the eight boys were the tattooed toughs he'd expec... posted on Nov 02 2016, 12,823 reads

Navajo Justice
In January 2000, the Navajo Nation Council decided to revamp the Navajo Nation Criminal Code by, among other things, requiring the use of peacemaking in criminal cases. The Council formally incorporated into its criminal code the traditional concept of "nalyeeh" -- the process of confronting someone who hurts others with an intention to talk out the action and its consequences. Through this bold e... posted on Nov 01 2016, 17,432 reads

Welcome to My House
Welcome to My House, a collaboration between non-profit Voices of the Children and band Luc and the Lovingtons, features American teens and Syrian refugee youth singing a cross-cultural message of joy, love and peace. The video was filmed on site at the Zaatari Refugee Camp and Wadi Rum in Jordan as well as in the Skagit Valley of Washington State, USA. Most of the youth, participants and location... posted on Oct 31 2016, 2,285 reads

Why Anonymity is More Artistically Rewarding than Fame
"Obscurity rids the mind of the irk of envy and spite; [it] sets running in the veins the free waters of generosity and magnanimity; and allows giving and taking without thanks offered or praise given." Read on for Virginia Woolf's reflections on the power of creating art anonymously.... posted on Oct 30 2016, 7,808 reads

Three Things that Matter Most in Youth and Old Age
In an effort to to try and get a glimpse on what is important in life, writer and photographer Nancy Hill approached children under the age of 7 and adults over the age of 70 and asked them to share the three things that mattered most to them. The following photo essay has some endearing, and somewhat surprising answers.... posted on Oct 29 2016, 42,908 reads

James Doolin: A Relationship with Reality
James Doolin's paintings of Los Angeles reveal essences of the place on another scale. As he said, "Being a painter, just watching is so important. Just watching everything!" He was a searcher. "I wanted to confront the great things. The three years I spent living in the desert were probably the high point in my life. You see things you would never see unless you're alone." At such moments sudden... posted on Oct 28 2016, 3,320 reads

The Sneaker Saint
As a child going through tough times, Rikki Mendias had holes in his shoes. A woman he met through a shelter noticed and gave him new ones. He remembers fondly the smell of them, fresh out of the box, and the feeling of pride he had when he wore them the next day. Something about the experience affected him so deeply that he became a huge sneaker fan and collector. But it felt meaningless. Then h... posted on Oct 27 2016, 13,625 reads

The Winter Pilgrim
In October 2007, Ann Sieben, a native of Denver, Colorado and a nuclear engineer by profession, was waiting for a work permit in Spain that never came through. Instead of looking for other work, she decided to walk on foot along an ancient pilgrimage path known as the Camino de Santiago. Later, in December of that year, she walked over 2100 kilometers from Canterbury to Rome. The following winter,... posted on Oct 26 2016, 18,139 reads