Give That Which is Organic to You: A Recipe to Avoid Burnout, by Parker Palmer
ago, I heard Dorothy Day speak. Founder of the Catholic Worker movement, her long-term commitment to living among the poor on New York's Lower East Side - had made her one of my heroes. So it came as a great shock when in the middle of her talk, I heard her start to ruminate about the "ungrateful poor." I did not understand how such a dismissive phrase could come from the lips of a saint - until it hit me with the force of a Zen koan. Dorothy Day was saying, "Do not give to the poor expecting to get their gratitude so that you can feel good about yourself. If you do, your giving will be thin and short-lived, and that is not what the poor need; it will only impover... posted on Jun 12 2017 (12,630 reads)

How a Snow Leopard Conservation Project in Spiti Valley Paved the Way for Empowering Local Women, by Sohini Dey
snow leopard is one of the world’s most beautiful, albeit elusive animals. Concentrated in the mountainous regions, these arresting animals can be spotted by the fortunate few in countries like China (where the bulk of the population resides), Bhutan and India. In Himachal Pradesh, the snow leopard enjoys the distinction of being the state animal. Image source: Eric Kelby/Wikipedia Commons With their inherent reclusive nature and shrinking natural habitats, the number of snow leopards in the wild has dropped over the years. In the Himalayas, Nature Conservation Foundation (NSF) and Snow Leopard Trust have been working to conserve the local population of snow leop... posted on Jun 24 2017 (14,508 reads)

Start Small, Start Now: Daily Ways to Build Resilience, by Heleo Editors
people define resilience as recovering from a hurricane or a divorce, a big thing. If you define it as small, you can improve.” Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist at Harvard Business School, the author of the bestselling book Presence, and a speaker whose TED Talk is the second-most watched of all time, with 39+ million views. She recently joined Bonnie St. John, former Olympic champion skier, speaker, and author of Micro-Resilience, for a live Heleo Conversation about overcoming challenges great and small. Amy, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a teenager, and Bonnie, an amputee who lost her right leg at age five, spoke frankly about their own experiences, di... posted on Jun 29 2017 (11,987 reads)

The mysticism of wide open eyes, by Michael Edwards
© Nevit Dilmen. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Three months before his death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, the British playwright Dennis Potter was interviewed for the BBC by broadcaster Melvyn Bragg. In obvious pain and taking regular swigs from a bottle of liquid morphine, Potter explored a wide range of questions about his work, politics, family and feelings—given that he was already in the terminal stage of his illness. I was spellbound by the raw honesty and energy of his answers, but there was one section that catapulted me into a different state entirely. It came when Potter described the plum tree blossom outside ... posted on Jul 12 2017 (11,025 reads)

Inner Preacher vs. Inner Teacher: Ursula K. Le Guin on Meaning Beyond Message and the Primary Responsibility of the Artist, by Maria Popova
a poem is made available to the public, the right of interpretation belongs to the reader,” young Sylvia Plath wrote to her mother as she reflected on her first poem. What is true of a poem is true of any work of art: Art transforms us not with what it contains but with what it creates in us — the constellation of interpretations, revelations, and emotional truths illuminated — which, of course, is why the rise of the term “content” to describe creative output online has been one of the most corrosive developments in contemporary culture. A poem — or an essay, or a painting, or a song — is not its “content”; it transforms ... posted on Jun 27 2017 (8,306 reads)

How Do You Build a Sacred Space?, by Siamak Hariri
design the Bahá'í Temple of South America, architect Siamak Hariri focused on illumination -- from the temple's form, which captures the movement of the sun throughout the day, to the iridescent, luminous stone and glass used to construct it. Join Hariri for a journey through the creative process, as he explores what makes for a sacred experience in a secular world. The school of architecture that I studied at some 30 years ago happened to be across the street from the wonderful art gallery designed by the great architect Louis Kahn. I love the building, and I used to visit it quite often. One day, I saw the security guard run his hand acro... posted on Jul 8 2017 (9,684 reads)

Spotlight on Finding Common Ground, by Shari Swanson
run high. Sides are polarized. Even attempts at neutral, innocuous conversations seem stymied and fraught. How can we reestablish connection in our fractured communities? How can we reengage in conversation? How can we move forward together into our shared future? In this Daily Good Spotlight on Finding Common Ground, we take a look back into past features offering advice on how to come together and consider some stunning examples of people who have been able to overcome seemingly insurmountable differences to find common ground. Key to establishing connections among people and within communities are improving communication, focusing on common passions, and forgiving each other. ... posted on Jul 2 2017 (9,397 reads)

Thom Bond: Changing the Conversation with NVC, by Awakin Call Editors
following is based on the July 8th, 2017 Awakin Call with Thom Bond.  In 2002 Thom Bond was a successful environmental engineer, passionate about designing smart buildings that used alternative energy. Then he chanced upon Marshall Rosenberg's landmark book Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life. "By the time I read Chapter 1, it hit me that I had found what I was looking for...A set of concepts and ideas to be able to move through conflict." Thom realized instinctively that he'd found a new technology -- one that was human-oriented as opposed to building-oriented that would allow for more effective and harmonious use of energy. ... posted on Jul 9 2017 (20,925 reads)

The Very Best Way to Pray for Peace, by Janessa Gans Wilder
a CIA analyst began an interfaith quest for citizen diplomacy “Allah-hu-akhbar,” God is great, the congregation murmured as I stood shoulder to shoulder with a veiled woman. It felt strangely intimate to be physically touching the Muslim woman, even though we had never spoken. I followed her body movements, as well as those of the men in front of the partition ahead of me, for cues as to what to do next. As we bent over and put our hands on our knees, her young daughter watched me intently, giggling as she scooted out of the way. As my forehead touched the floor, I felt how easy it is in that position to think of humbling myself completely before the Almighty. Among my pra... posted on Jun 20 2020 (19,609 reads)

Wu De: Tea as the Great Connector, by Bela Shah
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 (9,960 reads)

Slow Down, Slow Food, Slow Science, by Francisco Ramos-Stierle
Challenge of Education for a New Generation: Converting Swords into Plowshares. “Where ignorance is your master, there is no possibility of peace.”The XIV Dalai Lama. The scientific contributions of Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman were fundamental for the construction of the atomic bomb. Today, their reflections on the subject are also fundamental for the survival and evolution of our species. Conversations with both scientists after the Manhattan Project indicate that both these great men felt remorse for their involvement. They both wished they had thought through more thoroughly their direct and indirect involvement with the project; and said that if they had kno... posted on Jul 10 2017 (6,653 reads)

War Childhood: The Paradox of Gratitude, by Lexi Hartley
During the 2015-2016 school year, I had the immense privilege of living in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, where I taught at a university and assisted with various community development projects. One of these projects–one that would ultimately define my entire experience abroad–was the War Childhood Museum. Very few people talk directly about the war, but it lingers in the air, present in almost every conversation. Between 1992-1995, Bosnia was decimated by a brutal war. The capital, Sarajevo, remained under siege for over three years–the longest siege in European history since the end of World War II. Over twenty years later, the signs of the war are still everywh... posted on Aug 1 2017 (7,093 reads)

Rebecca Solnit on Breaking Silence as Our Mightiest Weapon Against Oppression, by Maria Popova
are our stories, stories that can be both prison and the crowbar to break open the door of that prison.” “To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men,” the poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote in her 1914 anthem against silence — an incantation which fomented biologist and writer Rachel Carson’s courage to speak inconvenient truth to power as she catalyzed the environmental movement. “My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you,” Audre Lorde admonished on the cusp of another cultural revolution in her influential 1984 treatise on transforming silence into redemptive action. “Silence enc... posted on Aug 27 2017 (10,284 reads)

The Sacred Art of Pausing , by Tara Brach
Sacred Art of Pausing   In our lives we often find ourselves in situations we can’t control, circumstances in which none of our strategies work. Helpless and distraught, we frantically try to manage what is happening. Our child takes a downward turn in academics and we issue one threat after another to get him in line. Someone says something hurtful to us and we strike back quickly or retreat. We make a mistake at work and we scramble to cover it up or go out of our way to make up for it. We head into emotionally charged confrontations nervously rehearsing and strategizing. The more we fear failure the more frenetically our bodies and minds work. We fill our days wi... posted on Jul 16 2017 (25,988 reads)

A Vision for the World, by Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Small Gestures of Gratitude to Counteract Violence The gift hidden in our unprecedented world crisis is an equally unprecedented opportunity. My vision of the world? My hope for the future? This topic sounds a bit big. Allow me to start small—say, with crows. They are my special friends. Just as I am writing these lines, one of them, the shy one among my three regular guests, is gobbling up the Kitty Fritters I put out for them. This brings to mind a short poem by Robert Frost that might provide a stepping-stone for our deliberations about world-vision and hope for the future—if any. The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has gi... posted on Aug 9 2017 (10,905 reads)

Algorithms & Love: Dancing with the Creative Tension of Our Times, by Nipun Mehta
is an adapted transcript of a talk delivered by ServiceSpace founder, Nipun Mehta, at the 2017 Wisdom Together conference in Munich, Germany] Today I want to talk about this very interesting tension between algorithms and love. While algorithms are a set of recipes, or a set of instructions, that help us filter data on the outside, it is our intuition that helps us with a lot of data on the inside. Now, that intrinsic data doesn't have the same kind of boundaries as extrinsic data, so holding theme together makes for a very interesting tension -- that I want to explore today. Many years ago, I saw a movie called “Minority Report”. Tom Cruise opens in his da... posted on Aug 17 2017 (21,864 reads)

Spotlight on Seniors Who Are Changing the World, by Shari Swanson
is a time finally away from bosses and schedules, stress and assignments. Yet, once retired, many miss the sense of purpose and community their jobs provided. Where retirement once called to mind visions of rocking chairs and mid-day snoozes, many in the Baby Boomer generation are shaking things up, turning their focus in retirement to encore careers and volunteerism. In this Spotlight on Seniors Who are Changing the World, we take a look at some extraordinary individuals who have used their 'retirement' as an opportunity to give back to the world and their communities in remarkable ways, finding along the path both passion and purpose in their golden years. From Me... posted on Aug 14 2017 (14,684 reads)

Anne Lamott (Author) Writes Down Every Single Thing She Knows, As of Today, by Anne Lamott
am going to be 61 years old in 48 hours. Wow. I thought i was only forty-seven, but looking over the paperwork, I see that I was born in 1954. My inside self does not have an age, although can’t help mentioning as an aside that it might have been useful had I not followed the Skin Care rules of the sixties, ie to get as much sun as possible, while slathered in baby oil. (My sober friend Paul O said, at eighty, that he felt like a young man who had something wrong with him.). Anyway, I thought I might take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today. 1. All truth is a paradox. Life is a precious unfathomably beautiful gift; and it is impossib... posted on Nov 3 2017 (233,772 reads)

He Bought a $500 House in Detroit. But It Was Never About the House , by Colin Beavan
young white man moved into a black neighborhood to fix a crumbling house and discovered what really transcends differences. How can a young white man with no faith in politics find a path to meaningfully assist in the struggle for race and class justice and also in the healing of what divides the people of these United States? In many ways, that is the subject of Drew Philp’s memoir about being a white millennial who dedicates his life to buying, fixing up, and living in a derelict house in a poor, black neighborhood in soon-to-be bankrupt Detroit. The most poignant scene from A $500 House In Detroit begins when a neighbor and friend of Philp’s pulls up in a picku... posted on Nov 4 2017 (8,444 reads)

As Worthy As You Are, by Bonnie Rose
I look at babies, I see how worthy we all are.  I see that each individual is an artist, ready to paint something soul-fulfilling on the palette of existence.  I see how we start out completely innocent and deserving of love.    Then we begin to grow, finding our way in a sometimes challenging world.  Navigating life’s difficulties sometimes alters our perception of self-worth.  We discover that we don’t always receive the love and care we need.  We experience disappointment, failure and rejection.  There are times when we are not seen or heard or validated for who we are.   We begin to doubt ourselves and often perceive t... posted on Sep 14 2017 (15,884 reads)