Love as a Great Transition Story
We may imagine love to be quite utopian, but consider the alternatives. In not choosing love we are left with law and the prospect of global bureaucratic stagnation. In not choosing law we are left with force and the prospect of either global devastation or global domination. If we value our freedom and vitality as a species, we are obliged to do no less than learn to love one another as a human f... posted on Aug 7, 16845 reads

Fixed vs Growth: Two Mindsets that Shape Our Lives
Years of research by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck highlights the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, in shaping almost every aspect of our lives. "One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves...has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality. A 'fixed mindset' assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative abilility are static ... posted on Oct 9, 26126 reads

Invisible Wings: A Tea Seller Who Travelled the World
65-year old tea seller Vijayan and his wife Mohana (who had never traveled outside of her home town of Ernakulam, Kerala before her marriage) have been to 16 countries and across most of India. Every three years or so, after paying off loans and saving a little money (at the rate of a few dollars a day) the couple shuts down their tea stall (their only source of income) and sets off for another de... posted on Dec 4, 4331 reads

The Art of Making the Mundane Magical
"In 5th grade I had a very difficult year. Many things happened, and they kind of happened all at once. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And my beloved 5th grade teacher had passed away unexpectedly I felt like I had lost a group of friends I was with. All these different events happened and it was the first time I felt really alone in the world. It was a really difficult time but I r... posted on Aug 18, 14128 reads

One Heart: A Mission To Save Lives in Childbirth
""When I came to Tibet I heard of so many tragic stories of women dying -- no access to care in remote areas, no history of trained birth attendants, and no knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth," Arlene Samen recalls. It is a problem that stretches well beyond Tibet's borders. According to the World Health Organization, more than 500,000 women worldwide die each year as a result of complicatio... posted on Jul 14, 2780 reads

Street Poets: The Community Cure for a Violent Culture
For twenty years, Chris Henrikson has been using the power of poetry to reach and transform at-risk youths and students in classrooms and on the streets. What started as a writing workshop in a juvenile detention camp with six kids has grown to a program serving over 600 young people a year. At its core, Street Poets offers kids a safe space to open up, tell their stories, and discover and share t... posted on Jul 29, 15940 reads

Artistic Noise: Transforming the Lives of Incarcerated Youth
For fifteen years, Artistic Noise has been giving a voice to young people who might otherwise go unheard: those who are incarcerated, on probation, or otherwise involved in the justice system. By bringing the freedom and power of artistic practice to youths both inside detention facilities and out, Artistic Noise creates safe spaces for them to express themselves and provides continuity for those ... posted on Oct 2, 0 reads

Tending the Quiet Cadence of Our Lives
"Oysters open their shells when the moon is high. The chambered nautilus forms a new chamber in its spiraled shell every lunar month" In this lovely essay, Wayne Muller entreats us to pause the hectic pace of life to tune into nature's quiet rhythms. "There is a hum the earth makes... We are blessed with ears that allow us to hear music, and birds awakening at sunrise, and, if we take the time, if... posted on Nov 20, 17706 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, 2273 reads

How Women-Led Movements Are Redefining Power
Across the globe, a revolution is quietly occurring. Women's groups, networks, and individuals are fighting battles fiercely and valiantly, often in the face of discouragement and discrimination. While they might not always make the front page of the news, they are not going away, and their strength is growing. Dayamani Barla is a tribal journalist from Jharkhand, India, who led a movement to stop... posted on Nov 15, 17289 reads

Inner Beauty
"Inner beauty always reflects on the outside. This is something we have all heard time and again. But then, do we spend less time in front of the mirror? Do we still pay attention to outward appearances and draw a lot of conclusions based on those? ... What if one day our inner self and physical self were turned inside out? How would that impact our looks and confidence? Would most of us be able t... posted on Jan 28, 24656 reads

Where Strangers Become Family
Bridge Meadows is a privately funded nonprofit that has established a multigenerational community in Portland, Oregon. Here, in a cluster of townhomes and apartments, low-income elders and adults have adopted or are in the process of adopting children in foster care through an organization that provides on-site services and creates a support network for all. The elders -- the oldest member of the... posted on Jan 25, 10505 reads

Protecterra's Farm
Protecterra Ecological Foundation was founded in 2011 with a vision and dream of a sustainable planet, a more sensitive people, and a global society that respects nature, and comes together in solidarity to heal and protect earth. Protecterra facilitates numerous initiatives principled on values of education, awareness, and outreach. This video documents one such initiative -- Protecterra's Farm... posted on Apr 5, 2893 reads

He Quit His Corporate Job to Help His City's Needy
How much of a difference can one person possibly make? Here's a great example. Five years ago, Goutham Kumar decided to walk away from a successful career and commit to helping others full time in his hometown of Hyderabad, India. It wasn't enough to be a passion; he wanted it to be his profession. First he started Save a Life, which aims at rescuing and rehabilitating the homeless. Then he starte... posted on Apr 16, 18729 reads

Healing Children & Communities One Breath at a Time
When he was just 6 years old, J.G. Larochette felt a deep calling to bring love and awareness to communities overwrought by racism, oppression, and inequality. While teaching in Richmond, CA, he recognized a significant gap between providing academic instruction and maintaining a sense of nurturance and compassion. "Reading is fundamental, but if we create a stressful environment, we counteract ed... posted on Sep 26, 10967 reads

Luc and the Lovingtons: Music as a Force of Love
At 6-years-old Luc Reynaud announced to his teacher that he was going to paint the moon. "And what about the Earth, Luc? What about the universe?" Luc felt an electric surge of energy through his body, as his teacher picked up a huge bolt of construction paper and unfurled it across the classroom floor. For the next few weeks, Luc -- along with his friends -- painted the universe. It was a heady f... posted on Mar 29, 10193 reads

Earth Guardians: Responding to Global Crisis
Since he was a kid, indigenous environmental activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez understood that all life is sacred and "each and every one of us is deeply connected not only to each other but to the world around us." At 6 years old, he saw Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary "The 11th Hour" and recognized that climate change is happening and that he has to do more. Now a teenager, Xiuthezcatl is the Youth ... posted on Apr 22, 2983 reads

Beyond Grit: The Science of Creativity, Purpose and Motivation
How are world-class geniuses different from other people? It may have less to do with genetics and more to do with the journey from interest to purpose to hope. Angela Duckworth is a psychologist, founder of the non-profit 'Character Lab', and bestselling author of 'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. She examines how successful and happy people delve into their passions as a process of d... posted on Jul 14, 12888 reads

Too Much. Too Fast. Time To Slow Down.
"Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard each had big books in 2015. Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction takes an unflinching look at the history of extinction and the different ways that human beings are negatively impacting life on the planet. Ricard's Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the ... posted on Jun 19, 16179 reads

Addressing Social Justice with Compassion
Professor Rhonda Magee is a faculty member at the University of San Francisco law school, an expert in contemplative pedagogy, the President of the Board of the Center for Contemplative Minds in Society, and a teacher of mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions for lawyers and law students. She has spent her career exploring the interrelationship between law, philosophy, and notions of jus... posted on Jun 1, 14048 reads

Life is the Network Not the Self
What if the fundamental unit of biology is not the self, but the network? What if plants, and really, all species, are made of interacting relationships and networked connections that are intertwined? A simple backyard experiment looking at the biological make-up of a maple leaf revealed to Professor David Haskell that a maple leaf is not an individual made of plant cells, but "a community of cel... posted on Jun 2, 7957 reads

War Childhood: Finding Light in the Darkness
Jasminko Halilovic grew up as a 'war child' in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Even though the war ended years ago, its effects linger in the atmosphere, the buildings, and the people. Between 2010 and 2013, Halilovic interviewed people online and in person about their experiences being children of war, and in 2013 published his book War Childhood: Sarajevo 1992-1995. From this book, Halilovi... posted on Aug 1, 7094 reads

Teri Delane: From Addiction to Academy Founder
How did a law-breaking, heroin-using, 9th-grade dropout go on to earn two Masters degrees and a Ph.D? By learning about trust and community at a critical time in her life. At the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco, Teri Delane received the support she desperately needed, and the tools to succeed. It made such an impact on her that she decided to give back. "My heart and soul has always be... posted on May 15, 9564 reads

My Year Reading a Book from Every Country in the World
Several years ago, Ann Morgan, a writer from London, looked at her bookshelf and realized it held almost no books from other countries -- an oversight she called a "massive cultural blindspot." In a nod to the Olympics, she decided to read a book from every country (196 total) and blog about it. But she quickly learned that finding books in English would be a challenge. Only about 4.5 percent of l... posted on Jun 9, 2864 reads

Sister Lucy: The Mother Teresa of Pune
Sister Lucy Kurien founded Maher in 1997, one small home in a village outside of Pune. This humble beginning has blossomed into over 30 homes in over 85 rural communities around Pune, India as well as locations in Ratnagiri, Kerala and Jharkhan and has served over 4,000 women, men and children. Maher means mother's home in Marathi. Sister Lucy has created the warmth and love of a mother's home for... posted on Jul 1, 11868 reads

Spotlight on Kids Who Are Changing the World
We live in challenging and stressful times and may wonder how our children must be feeling when we are struggling ourselves.But, even as we try to shelter and protect them, we discover that children and young adults are remarkably resilient and that the things that help us to cope in difficult situations are often the very things that make challenges more bearable for them as well. Moving from a s... posted on May 26, 9946 reads

What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death?
As a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi felt he'd be prepared to face his own mortality. After all, he'd helped so many of his patients before. But after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis, he found little of it helpful in deciding what makes life worth living in the face of death. In this TED talk, Lucy Kalanithi talks about her husband's last two years and the choices they made to improve his quality o... posted on Sep 10, 50387 reads

Three Stories of Healing and Transformation
A physician's assistant and former doctor learns about the essence of serving patients not from medical school, but from a job at an arts-and-crafts store deeply listening to people and connecting with the humanity in others. A pediatric doctor in a large HMO was burned out and dejected because she was not living up to her vision of saving lives -- until motherhood and fresh eyes of seeing the va... posted on Aug 3, 11079 reads

Let Compassion Heal Us: An Intern Examines Suffering
"Being a ServiceSpace summer intern in these past months, I have been guided into a circle of genuine friends and mentors. As part of my internship I interviewed various people in the community about their relationship to pain and suffering. One of the lessons I received is that if we hold space for each other, open our hearts, listen deeply with our full presence, detach from any projections or j... posted on Aug 13, 11689 reads

Grandmother Power
Across the world, grandmothers are keepers of tradition and leaders of change. In families and communities battling discrimination, poverty, disease and death, grandmothers stand and rise as providers, healers, insurgents. They are storytellers who bridge the past and the future with wisdom and bold, creative action. This is why photojournalist Paola Gianturco has dedicated her life to documenting... posted on Oct 23, 15874 reads

The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life
In "The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life", best-selling author Mark Nepo focuses on the relationships between people who share experiences and create bonds of love. Nepo himself is a cancer survivor, and the philosophy in his book delves into some of the experiences he has shared with caregivers and doctors during his treatment and recovery, focusing on the blur in lines between th... posted on Feb 1, 14321 reads

Atul Gawande: What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande practices general and endocrine surgery in Boston, is a professor at Harvard Medical School, a writer for the New Yorker, and author of "Being Mortal." Through his work Dr. Gawande opens a new conversation about what dying has to do with living, and his role as a medical doctor in ensuring not only health and survival, but enabling his patients' well-being. In this interview, Dr. Ga... posted on Jan 11, 29032 reads

21 Lessons on Leadership and Love from an Uncommon Master
Frederic Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado, travel the world performing and leading horsemanship and dressage clinics. Magali dazzles audiences with her ability to perform high-level dressage moves without so much as a bridle. Together the duo invite humanity into an altogether different approach to relationship. Their philosophy towards horses is actually a way of life: love, respect and unders... posted on Feb 13, 1601 reads

Jean Vanier: The Wisdom of Tenderness
Jean Vanier's life demonstrates tenderness. A philosopher, a Catholic social innovator, and the founder of The L'Arche movement, which is centered around people with mental disabilities, he has devoted his life to the practical application of Christianity's most paradoxical teachings: that there's power in humility, strength in weakness, and light in the darkness of human existence. The 147 L'Arch... posted on Feb 23, 12599 reads

Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
"As a respected educational writer, teacher and activist, Parker J. Palmer shares some powerful thoughts on the current landscape of higher education with regard to pedagogy and practice. Through his personal and professional experiences with teaching and learning...Palmer argues that, at the present time, we no longer can ignore the 'inner drivers' that connect to the very core of humanity and th... posted on May 8, 12098 reads

Innovation Means Relying on Everyone's Creativity
"You can't hate someone whose story you know". This motto highlights the work of Meg Wheatley, a well-respected writer, teacher, and speaker. In this informative piece, she reflects on the creative potential that emerges when we begin to treat organizations as living systems, rather than machines, and remain open to the possibility of adaptation and change. Drawing from 6 paradigms, Wheatley explo... posted on Feb 26, 12184 reads

Nature, Joy and Human Becoming
"The sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us," Michael McCarthy writes, "may well be the most serious business of all." He is a naturalist and journalist, and this is his delightful and galvanizing call that we can stop relying on the immobilizing language of statistics and take up our joy in the natural world as our civilizational defense of it. With a p... posted on May 28, 6654 reads

Pearl Fryer's Unusual Legacy
Located on a short and quiet side street of the main road entering Bishopville, the garden sits on the left side of the road and a bank of pine trees lends shade and depth at the back of the property. An archway leads visitors to the left side of the property. It was through this archway that I stepped onto Fryer's garden for the first time. In life-sized letters cut into the grass and planted wit... posted on Jul 6, 10320 reads

Keewaydahn: Going Home
Indigenous people can live without American society, but American society cannot live without indigenous cultural knowledge. In her lecture to the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, Winona LaDuke compares indigenous cultures to industrial cultures, recounts the holocaust of indigenous peoples, explains indigenous sustainability, and describes the impact indigenous and industrial cultures have ... posted on Jun 27, 6937 reads

I Will Teach You: Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim
At age seven, Tae Yun Kim gazed upon her uncles practicing an ancient martial art. She was awestruck. Never before had she seen something so beautiful and exciting, their movements both natural and mystical. She decided right then and there she had to learn. There was only one problem: She was a girl in 1950s South Korea, and this was a five-thousand-year-old culture and tradition. When Kim asked ... posted on Jun 12, 8277 reads

Muhammad Yunus: Revolutionized Banking
What would it take to create a world with zero poverty, unemployment, or net carbon emissions? In "A World of Three Zeros," economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammed Yunus continues his work conceiving economic and social systems that enable people to break out of poverty. Well known for pioneering microloans and founding Grameen Bank, Yunus also has novel thoughts on capitalism and how it ... posted on Jul 24, 7545 reads

What Does a Compassionate Workplace Look Like?
Compassion in the workplace may sound foreign, but studies have shown that cultivating compassion at the office can have remarkable outcomes for product design, employee and customer engagement, and accountability. Compassion is at the root of delivering quality service, says Monica Worline, because "Service quality hinges on relationships, and relationships deepen when we listen and hear what's g... posted on Sep 13, 7599 reads

Opening Your Heart to Bhutan
How does a jet-setting financial analyst from London end up a Buddhist nun in Bhutan? Emma Slade (ordained as Ani Pema Deki) is a yoga and meditation teacher and author who left a successful career in finance in her thirties to find peace and meaning in the mountains of Bhutan. Unusual for a mother of a now 12-year-old boy, she was ordained a Buddhist nun in Bhutan in 2014 after rigorous training ... posted on Sep 7, 6797 reads

Jason Sowell & The Laundry Project
When DailyGood volunteer, LuAnn Cooley walked into a laundromat last week, she was greeted by a group of volunteers from The Laundry Project -- a non-profit whose generous mission is "to assist families with meeting a basic need -- washing clothes and linens, by turning laundromats into community centers of hope. Laundry fees are paid for while volunteers assist with laundry services, entertain ch... posted on Sep 12, 7599 reads

Horse Herd Dynamics & the Art of Organizational Success
"The horse herd is a 40-million-year-old system that not only succeeds, it thrives. This endurance defies the conventional definition of sustainability and invites us to learn something from these powerful, wise and sensitive animals. Allegorical use of horses as a window into the management of our own social organizations may seem at best romantic, and at worst a cheap stretch. We are not animals... posted on Sep 22, 21271 reads

Why Activism Must Be More Generous
Frances Lee, activist, writer, designer and public scholar in Seattle, Washington, believes that social justice movements have a narrow framework of morality, which is counterproductive. Movements need a critical mass of people, but now activists are expected to follow specific standards to be trusted and heard by the larger group. Frances argues that social justice activists must be as committed ... posted on Oct 24, 8324 reads

BJ Miller Understands Mortality
Oncologist and Executive Director of the Zen Hospice Project, B. J. Miller is a practitioner who is part of a Buddhist-informed, humanistic approach to care. The Zen Hospice Project is a place where medical staff and volunteers practice love, compassion, and empathy. In this interview, Miller, who has experienced deep, personal loss, advocates for respecting our grieving process and allowing it to... posted on Oct 29, 12659 reads

Pablo Neruda Against the Illusion of Separateness
"There is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song -- but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awarenes... posted on Nov 2, 7430 reads

Pope Francis' Encyclical: Hearing the Cry of the Earth
The Earth needs both physical and spiritual attention and awareness, our acts and prayers, our hands and hearts. Life is a self-sustaining organic whole of which we are a part, and once we reconnect with this whole we can find a different way to live -- one that is not based upon a need for continual distraction and the illusions of material fulfillment, but rather a way to live that is sustaining... posted on Dec 16, 8004 reads

8 World-Views and Practices by Mark Nepo
Since prehistoric hunters had to work together in order to survive, people have had to learn how to share both the workload and the harvest, and the problems and the joys. Through the centuries, traditions have formed and complexities have grown. But the health of all community depends on how we treat each other. This article explores eight worldviews and the practices they offer. Each can help us... posted on Dec 13, 11337 reads