How Libraries Save Lives
"Knowledge sets us free, art sets us free. A great library is freedom," Ursula K. Le Guin wrote in contemplating the sacredness of public libraries. "You never know what troubled little girl needs a book," Nikki Giovanni wrote in one of her poems celebrating libraries and librarians. A beautiful testament to the emancipating, transformative power of public libraries comes from a little girl named... posted on Nov 25, 12427 reads

Civic Beauty Without Permission
It wasn't long before Tony and I were standing on San Jose's Santa Clara Street, cars whizzing by, looking at a vintage concrete bridge. Its sides were tiled. In some places, the tile had been broken off, vandalized. Each panel featured colorful, original designs. The work, obviously, had required thousands of hours. But it wasn't finished and now stood in benign neglect. What happened here? I ask... posted on Jan 13, 3364 reads

Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance
What is grit? In this interview, University of Pennyslvania psychology professor Angela Duckworth explains that grit is the capacity to work hard and stay focused. She shares why grit is necessary in additino to talent, and why talent needs the drive that grit provides in order for one to be successful. ... posted on Nov 26, 15617 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, 14390 reads

The Pilgrim Who Walked 8000 Miles 50 Years Ago
Satish Kumar commemorates the 50th Anniversary of his Peace Walk from India to Washington D.C. with a 50 mile walk along the River Thames. In this short beautifully made video narrated by Kumar, he enumerates all the things you can learn by walking, as well as ways in which you can learn to make peace with people and with the earth. So, let us "accept life as it is, in its abundant form and celebr... posted on Dec 6, 3943 reads

Free Nature
Deep inside us is an “ecological self” according to Bill Devall, Sociology professor at Humboldt State University in California and author of Living Richly in an Age of Limits. He says that people need nature more than they have any idea, even a diminished landscape like a city park. They feel better when they are sitting under trees, but parks lack ability to continue the evolutionary... posted on Jan 19, 3471 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, 30148 reads

It's About Critical Connections Not Critical Mass
Connection to others is important in many aspects of life, from establishing a sense of self to securing basic safety. In this piece, Curtis Ogden shares the story of a couple who discovered this truth while hiking in the mountains of Nepal during the 2015 earthquake and makes a compelling case for why critical connections are a key to resilience and to moving from chaos to order in times of crisi... posted on Feb 4, 27811 reads

12 Questions Around Volunteerism
In this thoughtful piece ServiceSpace founder Nipun Mehta fields twelve probing questions on how to nurture and sustain a volunteer culture."Since 1999, ServiceSpace has been volunteer-run. It's a constraint and an asset. It opens us up to sensing multiple forms of capital...Leadership turns into laddership. Compassion is contagious; instead of pushing, we count on the pull. The metaphor shifts fr... posted on Jan 12, 20023 reads

A Deep Dive into the Gift Ecology
Traditional incubators support entrepreneurs in becoming sustainable through money. Service Space's "Laddership Circles", on the other hand, have been flipping that tradition, and exploring how to be sustainable through generosity. In a recent Laddership gathering, a small group of folks from across the globe joined together for a conversation on the "Gift Ecology" -- discussing everything from ho... posted on Jan 26, 11988 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, 5094 reads

Madrid's Robin Hood Restaurants
"It is early evening at a restaurant in central Madrid and Jose Silva sits down for a meal of rice, meatballs and vegetables as waiters flit from one table to another. All very normal, except for one crucial detail: Silva, 42, cannot afford to pay. He lives rough under the platform of a cable car station in Madrids sprawling Casa del Campo park, one of dozens of homeless people who have started di... posted on Dec 29, 14151 reads

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2016
Every year KindSpring shares a selection of the most powerful stories they've received over the last twelve months. In the spirit of anonymity these real-life stories are often posted by people who choose to use a "kindness alias". Some of the stories are about children and teenagers who have stumbled on creative ways to flex their kindness muscles, others are about adults of different ages, natio... posted on Jan 4, 19609 reads

Grateful Living as a Practice for Every Moment
In this Awakin Call, Kristi Nelson, Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living, (check out their popular website Gratefulness.org), shares a lifetime focusing on social movement through both inner and outer work. She speaks of the root of gratefulness, the reality of impermanence (she was diagnosed 24 years ago with stage four lymphoma), and the danger that we make the world reflect our ... posted on Jan 16, 10480 reads

Heal the World: Child Prodigy Cover
Nirali Kartik and Kartik Shah of Maati Baani, bring together 45 child prodigies from across the globe to "Heal The World." Working online with musicians ranging from 5 to 13 years of age, MaatiBaani released this video as a tribute to Michael Jackson on what would have been Jackson's 58th birthday. Let this message of love and peace carry us forward throughout the year.... posted on Jan 20, 3894 reads

Bloombars: A Conversation with John Chambers
"I think I was the only person of color in my entire school who wasn't placed in Special Ed. There was definitely an expectation of failure. So I left my senior year to attend Solebury School in New Hope, PA. This one-year experience really changed the way I thought, and it also forced me into leadership positions. I kind of reinvented, or discovered, myself -- probably both, to be honest. How fas... posted on Feb 2, 3803 reads

The Human Library: Talking to Books
Instead of borrowing a book at this library, you can borrow a person! The intention behind the Human Library is to connect people to members of communities who are not well understood by the general public. In this video, Rachel Bergen shares, "Before today, I had never even met a medium, a transgender person, or someone with EB, but here I had the chance to even ask them personal questions and re... posted on Feb 28, 3606 reads

Filtering a Plastic Ocean
After 50 years of dumping plastics in the ocean, our seas are returning deadly microplastic particles to our beaches all over the world. This short film, Filtering A Plastic Ocean, explores the impact these tiny plastics, laced with toxic chemicals, have on marine wildlife and human health, and profiles ocean activist Marc Ward whose simple invention is making beaches safer for people around the w... posted on Mar 30, 4131 reads

Should You Live for Your Eulogy or Your Resume?
Within each of us are two selves, suggests David Brooks in this meditative short talk: the self who craves success, who builds a resume; and the self who seeks connection, community, and love -- the values that make for a great eulogy. In this short talk, Brooks asks: Can we balance these two selves? ... posted on Mar 12, 53140 reads

This Foster Father Takes in Only Terminally Ill Children
To raise a child by one's self already takes a special person; imagine what it takes to adopt a sick foster child who needs constant care, who very well might die in your arms. Mohamed Bzeek has spent the past twenty years caring for terminally ill foster children, taking them to doctors' visits, tending to special needs, celebrating birthdays, and sacrificing sleep. When the DCFS has a child who'... posted on Feb 20, 11803 reads

For the Traveler: By John O'Donohue
We think we travel to find adventure and a change of scenery, but there are other tiny gems that come to us along the way of the road that are not from travel brochures. It is "the compass of our soul" that is the secret guide for finding our way in this world. When we are lost in faraway lands, or "in that part of the heart that lies low at home," there is a silence within that can show us how ... posted on Feb 23, 53000 reads

Become Your Own Greenspace
Studies reveal that contentment, interconnectedness and wellbeing levels all increase with exposure to the vibration of natural greenspaces. According to this article 'you don't need a rooftop garden or an acre of forest to create your own meditative biosphere. It can be wherever you are.' When we tap into the vibration our our hearts, this magnetic strength beyond that of our brains, creates a ca... posted on Mar 21, 11537 reads

A Reading List For The Spirit
Spirituality and Health magazine has assembled its picks for the Best Books of the past year. Among them you will find reflections on mortality, explorations of depression, and insights from authors from a wide range of traditions. Some of the books examine the mind body connection for better mental health. One suggests that creating your own spiritual biography may help you recognize the times y... posted on Apr 4, 38061 reads

A Champion for Every Foster Child
"Research into foster children shows a clear correlation between their educational struggles and their chaotic home life - and how this gravely affects their future. Enter FosterEd. It is the brainchild of Jesse Hahnel, an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, who believes that if foster children had someone advocating for their education, at least some of those dire statistics might be a... posted on Feb 24, 9564 reads

A Call to Revolutionary Love
Valarie Kaur has lived the radical lessons of love that she shares as "an American interfaith leader, lawyer, filmmaker, Sikh activist, and founder of The Revolutionary Love Project based at the University of Southern California." She knows the sting of losing friends as a child because of her religion. She knows the trauma of losing a beloved family friend who was killed in a hate-crime in the af... posted on Mar 10, 13151 reads

Eight Ways to Stand up to Hate
Ever neglect to defend someone in a sticky situation and then kick yourself later for not having done anything? Oftentimes we freeze. Other times we fear retaliation. Maybe we simply are at a loss for what to do. But it's everyday events such as these that can affect society's overall tolerance for hate, which can be found not just in the news but under our very noses. This article gets us ready f... posted on Mar 6, 26785 reads

Business the Way Nature Intended
Giles Hutchins feels that study of our relationship with Nature can help us understand the challenges we face today. Climate change, rampant social inequality or rising stress in the workplace, all are symptomatic of our sense of place and purpose within life. Our relationship with ourselves, each other and the world is in desperate need of our attention. ... posted on Apr 3, 11315 reads

Recording the Sounds of Extinction
Musician and naturalist Bernie Krause is one of the world's leading experts in natural sound. Krause has been recording "soundscapes" - the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds, the songs of humpback whales - for over forty years and has amassed the largest archive in the world. In doing so, Krause can chart how wildlife sounds have changed over the course of climate change. Listen for yoursel... posted on Mar 5, 3065 reads

Anthony Chavez: Continuing a Legacy of Inspiration
When Cesar Chavez died, 30,000 people showed up to march in his honor. He was the visionary force behind the United Farm Workers union and had led the Farm Workers Movement fighting for civil rights while promoting nonviolence. Anthony Chavez, seven-years-old at the time, knew him simply as --Grandpa. Today Anthony is a leader in his own right, he travels the country speaking on behalf of the Cesa... posted on Mar 22, 10863 reads

The Promise & Paradox of Community
We human beings have a great need for one another, "an instinct of community." However, today this instinct to be together seems to be fragmenting as we experience increasing ethnic wars, militia groups, specialized interest clubs, and chat rooms. Are we using the instinct of community to separate and protect us from one another? It's ironic that we live surrounded by communities that succeed in c... posted on Jun 4, 12719 reads

Sergeant Helps Abandoned Animals in Afghanistan Find Homes
While Staff Sgt. Edwin Caba served in Afghanistan, a litter of puppies born on his base brought a sense of much needed joy and relief to the soldiers. Many didn't want to part with them once their tour ended. Enter Nowzad Dogs. Since 2007, the nonprofit has reunited more than 700 soldiers with the animals they cared for on duty. As the only official animal shelter in the country, it also helps fin... posted on May 21, 2016 reads

Born Baffled:Musings on a Writing Life
In the fall of 1978, Parker Palmer gave a lecture to a small literature class. Word-of-mouth landed him a book deal and 26 years later, he has published multiple books on a range of topics that he describes as 'curious musings' on his many interests. Since his first publication 'The Promise of Paradox', he continues to write, fueled by his love of words. For budding authors and word enthusiasts, h... posted on May 9, 13906 reads

When Serendipity Touches a Journey
Anthony Rubino is a nonfiction writer and artist based out of New York City, where he also is an art teacher in the city's public school system. In this piece, Anthony tells the story of a vacation he and his wife took to Arizona, where he experienced the serendipity of connecting with a man whose painting appeared in his dream. He recently completed his memoir "Looking for Wonder: A Teacher's Une... posted on Jun 22, 10818 reads

Hack the Hood Connects Bay Area Youth With Tech Opportunities
Growing up in East Oakland, California, Zakiya Harris straddled two different worlds: one predominantly black and the other affluent. Now, she's connecting those worlds through Hack the Hood, a nonprofit that introduces people of color to tech careers. Since 2014, the program has attracted more than 200 young minorities from local, low-income neighborhoods to learn skills such as website design, c... posted on Jun 18, 7068 reads

Hello Hijab: Mom Hopes To Create A Better World For Daughter
Safaa Bokhari, a mom living in Oakland, Pennsylvania, has experienced difficulty practicing her Muslim faith, especially while wearing her headscarf. Her goal is to foster a safer environment for her daughter when she becomes old enough to choose whether to wear a headscarf. To do that, she teamed up with a community organization in Pittsburgh to launch Hello Hijab, which creates tiny headscarves ... posted on May 2, 11847 reads

A Conversation with Carl Cheng: The John Doe Company
"My grandfather was the mayor of Canton and on my mother's side there were even more distinguished figures." All that was wiped in the Cultural Revolution and when Carl was five his family emigrated to the U.S. taking up farming in the San Fernando Valley. Cheng's story is fascinating. He now focuses on public art. "The potential of public art is to make us value what we have." He calls himself, t... posted on May 19, 2449 reads

When Rivers Hold Legal Rights
In the beautiful land of New Zealand flows a river that now has a voice to protect it. The voice is not like ours, but in every other way the Whanganui River has been given the same legal protections accorded to any person living in New Zealand. The river now "owns itself" and has the law to speak up for it when the river's rights are being violated. This growing global movement for Rights of Natu... posted on Jun 2, 6987 reads

The Axis & the Sycamore
Sitting in his newly built tree-house, Paul Kingsnorth muses about the situation the world is in. German philosopher Karl Jaspers coined a term, the Axial Age, referring to an historical period when five distinct civilizations, those of Greece, Palestine, Persia, India, and China, experienced profound transformations, led by spiritual pioneers such as the Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Zarathustra, Elij... posted on Jun 3, 8130 reads

Will Rosenzweig: Business Lessons from a Quiet Gardener
When William Rosenzweig learned he had been awarded the prestigious Oslo Business for Peace Award via a Google news alert -- he immediately assumed it was spam. But it was in fact real. A 2010 recipient of this award, selected by a committee of Nobel Laureates for the highest distinction given to a businessperson for outstanding accomplishments in the area of ethical business, Will has spent more... posted on Apr 26, 12330 reads

Robert Bengston: Inspiration Campaign
In 2012 artist Robert Bengston started a new participatory, people-powered project, Inspiration Campaign, that involves beautiful, empowering, nothing-for-sale advertising. The aim was to inspire the human spirit, and to transform mainstream media into a source of inspiration. The campaign uses crowd-funding to run uplifting, crowd-sourced messages on traditional physical advertising spaces. Mess... posted on May 3, 11313 reads

Rosanne Cash on How Science Saved Her Life
In a prelude to her reading of Adrienne Rich's poetic tribute to Marie Curie, Roseanne Cash discusses the insights she gained as she battled to find a cure to her debilitating headaches. She realized the source of her creativity 'comes from the same room as her deepest pain' and argued that we have to listen deeply to our inner truth: "Persist and verify... The power that we abdicate to others out... posted on Aug 18, 6996 reads

Walking with Gandhi
In this reflection, an anti-war activist reveals what he thinks is missing from the heart of many of today's nonviolent movements. "Amidst the day's exhilaration it was plain to me that something essential was missing - that there was, in fact, a gaping void at the very heart of it all...During the march, my eyes were invariably drawn by particular phrases scrawled on several of the signs and bann... posted on May 25, 14725 reads

Five Boys' Response to Bullying
Every morning, the students at Franklin Elementary in Mankato, Minnesota, take the Pledge of Allegiance. But five fifth-grade boys embody "liberty and justice for all." When the boys noticed their classmate with a learning disability getting teased, they banded together and made him a part of their gang. Watch this short film in which the boys themselves tell you why they did what they did.... posted on Feb 24, 4986 reads

Returning the Gift
Robin Wall Kimmerer notes, "In the teachings of my Potawatomi ancestors, responsibilities and gifts are understood as two sides of the same coin. The possession of a gift is coupled with a duty to use it for the benefit of all. A thrush is given the gift of song and so has a responsibility to greet the day with music. Salmon have the gift of travel, so they accept the duty of carrying food upriver... posted on Sep 2, 15344 reads

A Feast of Flowers
What do you feel when you gaze at a flower? Or better yet - a field of wondrous, lush, vibrant flowers? Our senses become engulfed in beauty, and as writer Lucia Ferrara Bettler explains in her article 'A Feast of Flowers', they truly are nourishment for the sprint. In one single flower we can feel the life-giving abundance that nature affords. Flowers teach us to behold the small, natural wonders... posted on Jun 13, 11448 reads

Seeing Through the Lens of Good
Jeanine Lim has been working with villagers in Vietnam for more than 20 years. Starting as a personal endeavor with her mother, Project Give Pray Love has grown to become a community effort that helps children in the Mekong Delta region stay in school through tuition grants, books, stationery and bicycles to get to school. Now the filmmaker and lecturer is helping introduce students to overseas co... posted on Sep 30, 2425 reads

Why Is It So Hard to Change People's Minds?
Understanding the emotional connections underlying our deeply held beliefs and ideas can help us learn to listen and talk to others in ways that open up possibilities for change minds; ours as well as others. This article from Greater Good Magazine by Elizabeth Svoboda explores how dialog between people can be a "fertile exchange" where each person's thinking evolves in unexpected ways.... posted on Sep 8, 11371 reads

Mental Illness: Turning Stigma Into Compassion
In this interview international expert on developmental psychopathy Stephen Hinshaw discusses his book "Another Kind of Madness: A Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness". Dr. Hinshaw grew up in a family where his father suffered from severe bouts of psychosis, sometimes requiring hospitalization, in turn affecting his own mental health. Having experience on both sides of the issue ... posted on Sep 4, 9864 reads

The Myth of the Digital Gene
How do parents raise children in this digital age? In this TEDx talk, Mary Rothschild suggests that what children most need is a parent's loving attention. Concerned that media saturation intrudes on a child's imagination, she urges parents to consider the types of media their children are consuming and to make sure they also have plenty of free play, alone time, quiet, and attention.... posted on Oct 16, 12564 reads

5 Ways to Step Up Your Love for Nature
Writer Melissa Hellmann discusses 5 ways to take your love of the outdoors to the next level, including activities such as volunteer work and activism. In order to increase our positive experiences with the outdoors, she recommends we fix the trails, count animals, restore history, take activism outside, and ditch the car. ... posted on Sep 3, 6183 reads