I was nine years old, I came down with a serious case of encephalitis. I spent a couple of weeks drifting in and out of sleep, hooked up to tubes and IVs, unable to talk—and then I slipped into a coma. A doctor warned my mom and dad that I might not come out “normal” or be able to walk again. When I came through a week later, I was happy to see my parents and my aunt standing in front of me, masks covering their mouths, their eyes open with relief and trembling with concern. I figured something was wrong, but didn’t understand what. “I want pizza,” I uttered. I had to wait a week before I could eat regular food. But my parents and relatives ... posted on Mar 14 2017 (9,131 reads)

gardens and parks, biodiversity projects, and ‘green’ designs are on the rise across Indiana. Visit downtown Indy for yourself, to see what reimagining urban living looks like. This is due to our expanded understanding of the correlation between Greenspace and our physical, mental, and economic well-being. Studies across multiple disciplines reveal feelings of contentment, interconnectedness, and wellbeing increase in correlation to exposure to natural, green space. But it shouldn’t take reams of scientific data to support what we already know. Greenspace makes us feel good. Why? In an age of amped up 24/7 stimulation, whole industries have materialized over... posted on Mar 21 2017 (11,410 reads)

beneath the surface, waiting like dormant seeds in the desert for summer rains. The perfect storm came in 2002, when during a hitchhiking trip Luc bought a used guitar in San Francisco and discovered his calling. His love for music broke into blossom. He dedicated himself to honing his craft, but it would still be a few more years before he discovered music wasn't just something he loved.  Music could be a force of love. Luc was working at a construction site in 2005 when he saw images of the havoc being wreaked by Hurricane Katrina. Unable to fathom that kind of suffering in his country, and so close to home, he went to his boss to ask for a leave of absence. Two days later ... posted on Mar 29 2017 (10,163 reads)

we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” --Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning Few books of the last century have had a greater impact on our quest for meaning than Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. This all-time bestseller was written by a Jewish man who had just lost everything in the Holocaust.  When Frankl, emaciated from concentration camps, returned to his beloved Vi... posted on Apr 14 2017 (57,905 reads)

Francisco Bay Area artist, Robert Bengtson, expresses his love for beauty through the mediums of photography, interactive art, wood, metal, plaster... and puts his creativity into inspiring the human spirit. Robert is a visual artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area who's been creating fine-art commercial photography for over 20 years.  Focusing on details that some may not see the beauty in – such as an imprint in the sidewalk or a pair of clasped hands – he chronicles the exquisite details of people, places and objects.  He applies his fine-art photography skills to personal, residential and commercial projects, and is also known for his stun... posted on May 3 2017 (11,136 reads)

and Mark, photo courtesy Mark Barone Artist Mark Barone burned through his retirement savings for a mission he believed in. Now, he is hoping people who love animals as much as he does will step up to help him complete that dream. Barone’s life took an unexpected turn in 2011, when his partner, Marina Dervan, alerted him to the fact that approximately 5,500 dogs were killed in U.S. shelters every day. She obtained this information by contacting all the large U.S. humane societies and learning that between 4 and 6 million dogs were put down annually. “Since shelters do not have to report the number of animals killed, that was a best guess,” she said. (According ... posted on Jun 14 2017 (10,902 reads)

my own nature in the name of nobility is a condition called burnout. Though usually regarded as the result of trying to give too much, burnout in my experience results from trying to give what I do not possess - the ultimate in giving too little! Burnout is a state of emptiness, to be sure, but it does not result from giving all I have; it merely reveals the nothingness from which I was trying to give in the first place.  May Sarton, in her poem "Now I Become Myself," uses images from the natural world to describe a different kind of giving, grounded in a different way of being, a way that results not in burnout but in fecundity and abundance: As slowly as the r... posted on Jun 12 2017 (12,587 reads)

shared the story below at an Awakin Circle in Santa Clara, CA. I'm grateful to volunteers who made the transcription below possible, and who continually encourage such stories of transformation.] A couple of months ago I was taking my regular afternoon walk along the coastal trail, and heading back home. My wife and son were waiting for me and I was a little late, so I was walking fast and thinking about getting there on time, not really noticing what was going on around me.  Then I thought, this isn’t much fun! What if I just slow down?  What if I can just be present and start noticing what's going on around me? So I did that. I was about ... posted on Jul 3 2017 (10,089 reads)

experiencing the beautiful gift of an Awakin Call with Zen monk and Tea Master, Wu De, I never would have understood the magic of tea. Other than being vaguely aware of its medicinal powers and high end varieties, there was little more that I knew and I certainly wouldn’t have equated tea with being “the great human connector”. But the wisdom with which Wu De shared with us how tea connects us back to nature, to each other, and to ourselves opened my heart to more than a different way of starting my day. Journeying from a Rural Ohio to Taiwan Suzanne: How did you find tea, being that you were born in North America? How did you listen to the self and fin... posted on Aug 5 2017 (9,927 reads)

says that for people who are passionately committed to social justice there needs to be a strong intention not to burnout, and a dedication to asking the following questions, "How can you make your life sustainable—physically, emotionally, financially, intellectually, spiritually? Are you helping create communities rooted in values of sustainability, including environmental and cultural sustainability? Do you feel that you have enough time and space to take in thoughts and images and experiences of things that are joyful and nourishing? What are your resources when you feel isolated or powerless? She said, “We can do our own mindfulness intervention and say, &l... posted on Nov 15 2017 (11,105 reads)

is for takers. Meaning is for givers. Guess who feels better? Button Lady by Lee White Something interesting has been happening in recent years. Meaning has regained a foothold in our universities, and especially in an unexpected place—the sciences. Many of the “meaning” researchers are working in a field called positive psychology—a discipline that grounds its findings in empirical studies, but also draws on the rich tradition of the humanities. Positive psychology was founded by the University of Pennsylvania’s Martin Seligman, who, after decades of working as a research psychologist, had come to believe that his field was in crisis. He... posted on Jan 25 2018 (36,126 reads)

that’s kind of a personal choice because that’s kind of where I — that’s the juncture I’m at in my life, in a sense. But of course, it’s not strictly chronological, which we’ll talk about. Fr. Rohr: That’s right, it isn’t. Ms. Tippett: Because really, it’s a template for a spiritual journey. Fr. Rohr: Very good. Ms. Tippett: And so — you know what? You just described — and you used some of the words and the images that are important to you in this — and this, I guess, was a phrase of Carl Jung, who popularized this notion of two halves of life, and that the preoccupations of the first half of life ... posted on Sep 11 2017 (14,849 reads)

GREENE shares her experiences of weeding her garden and her inner garden of tendencies and character traits, and makes peace with herself in the process. It’s late spring – the time of year when garden growth is prolific, determined, persistent.  Sometimes overwhelming. Especially the weeds. They require attention that is also determined and persistent, but in spite of my efforts there are always weeds that escape my notice and grow too big, too much. Removing them now causes disturbance or harm to the other plants. The behavior of weeds is no different from that of humans and other creatures. The weeds want to survive and have evolved ways to ... posted on Sep 20 2017 (20,858 reads)

the southern hemisphere, the night of June 20 is the longest night of the year, marking the arrival of winter. Welcoming the cold as a gift is part of being one with nature and its cycles… Recently we experienced the longest night of the year. The fact might have gone unnoticed–after all, the difference was a matter of seconds. But we all felt the coming of the cold, on time, like a boyfriend arriving for an unbreakable date. Few celebrated, because its arrival officially ends the sweetness of summer and heralds times of hardship and rigor. Cold is an absence, an absence of heat, and yet it feels like a presence…Photo: Jörg Peter/Pixabay... posted on Nov 16 2017 (14,693 reads)

teacher Pirkko Fihlman wears a traditional Käspaikka scarf during a gathering at her home in Helsinki. Credit: YES! Magazine/Katri Heinämäki. All rights reserved. Riitta Excell wore a pair of homemade wool socks: white with red floral patterns and rounded blue toes. Around her were women sipping tea and enjoying plum pastries and chicken feta pie. They wore homemade wool socks, as well. It was nearly 3 o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and Pirkko Fihlman’s living room on the outskirts of Helsinki was filled with black-and-white family photos, porcelain figurines of angels and birds, and embroidered rococo chairs. The clink of tea cups fell si... posted on Nov 11 2017 (12,787 reads)

mental and emotional patterns can teach us a lot about developing positive patterns, if we approach our tendencies mindfully, compassionately, and with gratefulness. I used to be a person who, though unusually optimistic and resilient in many ways, could often be prone to a negative train of thought I now playfully refer to as “awful-izing.” I have also heard this propensity called “catastrophizing.” Regardless, once aboard this train, it can take you a long way down some dark tracks before you realize you are not at all where you hoped or intended to be. The distinguishing qualities of a negative train of thought would be somewhat as follows: Somet... posted on Nov 24 2017 (19,264 reads)

Privilege of Living: A Conversation with Viral Mehta, by Pavithra Mehta August 1, 2016 Viral Mehta In mid-August 2015, Viral Mehta, a co-founder of ServiceSpace.org, was diagnosed with an acute form of bone marrow suppression. In the passages below, written half a year into the diagnosishis wife, Pavithra. “Pavi” Mehta, offers an update on Viral’s condition and speaks with him about his challenges and recovery.  -The Editors (Parabola magazine) Pavi’s Update Viral’s recovery is continuing slowly, at its own secret pace. Things are stable overall, though there have been fluctuations with his blood counts…. But the fact that h... posted on Dec 31 1969 (2,725 reads)

again I’m thinking back to the 16th of February, 2003. By that time, my own experiments with nonviolence had formed my lukewarm (at best) opinion of the marches and rallies currently in fashion. But February 16th was not a day to let skepticism reign. War was imminent and people were taking to the streets. I knew I ought be among them. And, while I cannot claim that I stepped out on that winter morning with every bit of my hardearned skepticism left at the door, I did step out. With an earnest and open heart, I stepped out. Downtown, I met up with a small group from my Quaker meeting. We wove among many thousands of our fellow San Franciscans, adding our voices to a resoundi... posted on May 25 2018 (14,527 reads)

Kevin Stark August 31, 2017 In 2008, Ecuador's leadership rewrote its constitution to include the rights of nature, effectively awarding legal rights to the environment. This change was led by many grassroots environmental advocates, including Natalia Greene, an organizer and environmental activist who played a key role in the development of the constitutional changes. In a 2015 talk about her experience, Greene said the changes were very bold: "It is very important because this means we don't necessarily depend only on the state to guarantee the rights of nature. Anyone in Ecuador can guarantee these rights." Indigenous communities have recognized the r... posted on Jan 20 2018 (12,694 reads)

Angelou once asked us to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud, but that’s harder than it looks. We’re all taught the importance of kindness when young but few manage to make it the focal point of our lives. As a result, kindness becomes a spice rather than the main course, something we try to rise to when the occasion presents itself. While some just talk the talk, however, others spend years driving a ten-ton bus covered in inspirational messages in an attempt to live that message. Bob Votruba’s home is a converted transit bus, the second he’s gone through over the past eight years. Saddened by the tragic Virginia Tech shootings of 2007, Bob searched fo... posted on Sep 29 2017 (14,003 reads)