Growing a Cross-Cultural Garden, by Padma Hejmadi
21, 2018 Some time ago—after a peripatetic existence across the U.S., my native soil of India, and a few points in between—I get to put down roots for a while in a university town in northern California. Among other things, this means at last being in one place long enough to really grow a garden. Our house is surrounded by a pitilessly arid patch of ground razed so bare by construction crews that I keep standing aghast, trying to envisage what to do with it, until a visiting cousin is driven to ask: “Hey, are you surveying your acres again?” The prospect, I tell her, is daunting even for my unpretentious patch. For more than a year we continue diggin... posted on Feb 16 2019 (4,913 reads)

Family Is Helping Others to Heal, by Bailey Williams
left to right, Cephus X (Uncle Bobby) Johnson, Stevante Clark, brother of Stephon Clark, 22, who was killed by Sacramento Police, and Beatrice X Johnson gather at the Families United 4 Justice event in Oakland, California. Photo by Nissa Tzun/Forced Trajectory Project. Oscar Grant III was an unarmed Black man killed by a police officer in Oakland, Calif., years before Black Lives Matter drew national attention to the growing number of unarmed Black men, women and children who die at the hands of law enforcement officers—what some scholars are calling an epidemic. Jan. 1 marked 10 years since the 22-year-old father was fatally shot by the Bay Area Regional Transit of... posted on Mar 16 2019 (3,528 reads)

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2018, by KindSpring Editors
things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” --Harold Kushner Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2018 By KindSpring.org Every year KindSpring shares the top 10 most inspiring kindness stories that were featured on our website or weekly newsletter throughout the year. These stories range from chance encounters of anonymous acts of kindness to deliberate, thoughtful ways that ordinary people choose to make the world a better place for those around them. Here are some of our favorites from 2018! When Her Bike Got Stolen and Humanity Found It “My bike was stolen a week ago Saturday. It was half my fault, half ... posted on Jan 23 2019 (22,499 reads)

A Moment with Mr. Rogers, by Jeff Zaleski
interviewed Fred Rogers, creator and host of television’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, by telephone a few years before he died. The occasion was the publication of his new book. Mister Rogers arrived on television after I grew up but I’d watched his show with our young daughter. She and I both preferred the often frantic Sesame Street, finding the Neighborhood a bit slow, sometimes a bit boring. Yet we kept watching it because we sensed something real and true behind the words and deeds of Fred Rogers and his friends and puppets on the show. Still, when I picked up the handset to call the man, I didn’t know what to expect. What would he b... posted on Mar 17 2019 (9,412 reads)

Embracing the Great Fullness of Life, by Kristi Nelson
all have our ideas about how life should go. Ideas painted within us as hopes, longings, opinions. Those painted around us as cultural norms, trajectories, “worthwhile” goals. We have ideas in mind about most everything — how our bodies should work, how love should work, how the world should work. Politics. Sleep. Weather. What we want and do not want. Ideas that make things bad or good, yes or no. And while these concepts can offer us valuable guidance about how we might approach life, they can also obscure and conflict with the vast majority of what is actually unfolding – and is bound to unfold – in our moment-to-moment, unpredictable lives and world. W... posted on Feb 10 2019 (10,555 reads)

Maria Popova: Books are the Original Internet, by Unknown Yet
NOVEMBER 2013  Oscar Schwartz on Maria Popova “Books are the original internet,” Maria Popova tells me with a grin. She is switched on, ballsy, irresistibly articulate, fully engaged. This is Maria’s gift. She talks about complex ideas in a way that transforms them into something I want to talk about with my friends. She makes big concepts relevant. “My bookshelves are completely full, and I’m still buying new ones compulsively,” she adds. “They’re piling up around me!” Undoubtedly, it is this gift that makes Maria’s blog, Brain Pickings, such a success. Her thirst for knowledge means that she looks pa... posted on Feb 17 2019 (8,910 reads)

Hands Across the Hills, by The Gratefulness Team
Changemakers,” is a series that celebrates programs and projects that serve as beacons of gratefulness. These efforts elevate the values of grateful living and illuminate their potential to transform both individuals and communities. Join us in appreciating the inspiring and catalyzing contribution these Changemakers offer to shaping a more grateful world. Hands Across the Hills Hands Across the Hills formed in response to the 2016 United States (US) presidential election with the goal of bringing together people who voted differently, face to face. Two small groups, progressives in rural Western Massachusetts (MA) and conservatives in Eastern Kentucky (KY) c... posted on Feb 25 2019 (7,343 reads)

Angels in the Details, by Greg Watson
following is a review of  Healing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship by John Todd, published by North Atlantic Books (January 2019) Water is the ultimate systems challenge.  It is a unique resource that underpins all drivers of growth – be it agricultural production, energy generation, industry or manufacturing. It also connects these sectors into a broader economic system that must balance social development and environmental interests. World Economic Forum Global Water Initiative Not quite three-quarters of the way through Healing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental... posted on Mar 12 2019 (6,244 reads)

Welcome to Fearless Dialogues. Are You Ready for Change?, by Faith and Leadership
the parking lot and the front door, those who attend Fearless Dialogues events will typically hear the following greetings several times, says Gregory C. Ellison II: “It’s good to see you." "Welcome to Fearless Dialogues." "Are you ready for change?” Launched by Ellison in 2013, Fearless Dialogues is a nonprofit organization that creates spaces for unlikely partners to engage in hard conversations about difficult subjects such as racism, classism and community violence. The nonprofit partners with organizations ranging from sports teams to schools and businesses to lead community conversations. Three elements -- see, hear and c... posted on May 20 2019 (6,261 reads)

Recording the Healing Sounds of Nature, by Lang Elliott
author, speaker, cinematographer, sound recordist, and photographer Lang Elliott of musicofnature.com, shares the arc of his experience recording the sublime sounds of nature. Here is one of his immersive binaural recordings from a remote canyon in Arizona that you might enjoy listening to while reading his essay. Dawn at Willow Narrows. Aravaipa Canyon in southeastern Arizona. May 1, 2017. © Lang Elliott. Please listen using headphones! I’ve been recording nature for nearly 30 years. Early in my career, my primary goal was to capture close and clean recordings of particular species with the help of highly directional microphones. The object was to extract a spec... posted on Mar 27 2019 (5,607 reads)

Quiet Spirituality, by Mirka Knaster
because I can talk up a storm, I love, even crave, silence. I feel safe in it. I know I won't blurt out something foolish or harmful, something I'll be sorry for. That's probably why if you ask spiritual teachers for advice on how to practice wise speech, they're likely to answer with one word: silence. Like the rain necessary for flowers to bloom, silence is essential for speaking with clarity. A Hindu adage, echoed in other cultures, reflects this relationship: If what you have to say is truthful, kind, and useful, then say it; if not, silence is best. My earliest lesson in the value of silence and the painful consequences of unkind words occurred when I was... posted on Apr 14 2019 (12,091 reads)

All My Best Words Were Hers: A Tribute to Ursula Le Guin, by Isaac Yuen
5th 2018 The messages stream in, from friends, acquaintances, strangers. “Thought of you when I heard the news.” I am grateful for their thoughtfulness and ashamed at the attention. The well wishes mount and I do not know how to contain them. I am only a fan. I never knew her personally. No matter how keen the loss felt, my relationship with her had always been one-sided, reader to author, writer to muse, apprentice to master. The impact she had on my life has been unfathomable, but so it was for countless around the world, across countries and cultures. I am only a fan. In the evening, my mom sends me a text: “Are you ok? I saw one of her quotes @Twitter:... posted on Apr 30 2019 (6,930 reads)

How to Work with the Bias in Your Brain, by Jill Suttie
the beginning of her new book, Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (Viking, 2019) researcher Jennifer Eberhardt tells a story about traveling with her then five-year-old son on an airplane. When he points out another black passenger on their plane and wonders aloud if the man might rob someone, it stops Eberhardt cold. “Why did you say that?” she asks him, not reprimanding but curious. He responds, “I don’t know why I said that. I don’t know why I was thinking that.” This story aptly illustrates one of the main themes of her book: No one is immune from bias. Not even her black son can escape t... posted on Apr 13 2019 (6,930 reads)

10 Sharing-Focused Books to Read this Spring, by Shareable
January, we shared a list of 20 social change books to read in 2019. As was bound to happen, we’ve found more interesting books (and one report) that we want to check out, and that you might be interested in too. Some of these are from our partners like Enspiral Foundation, The P2P Foundation, and Sharing Cities Sweden. Others were recommended to us. Take a look at what we’ll be reading and let us know what you think. If you have ideas for other books we should check out, let us know at info@shareable.net. We’ll consider your submission in the next edition. Below are summaries, excerpted from each book’s website: Better Work Toge... posted on Apr 28 2019 (8,878 reads)

Discovering the Sacred in Everyday Life, by Gail Brenner
it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.” ~ Galway Kinnell Although you may not realize it, your everyday life is already sacred. Everything arises from the one source. Everything is an exquisite expression of life, of pure being. One of my clients reported that she is starting to become more aware of things in her life she never noticed before. She loves it when someone unexpected shows up at her door. She flows through the day responding with ease to everyone and everything. And she is attuned with all her senses when she takes a walk outside. These are new experiences for her, but this deepening awareness has always been available. Things are... posted on Apr 12 2019 (8,799 reads)

God Who Weeps: A Story of Grief and Redemption, by Marilyn Lacey, RS
following is excerpted from This Flowing Toward Me: A Story of God Arriving in Strangers", by Marilyn Lacey, R.S.M, published by Ave Maria Press, 2009 Sr. Marilyn Lacey is the founder and executive director of Mercy Beyond Borders, a non-profit organization that partners with displaced women and children overseas to alleviate their poverty. The organization brings hope to more than 1,400 woman and girls annually by providing educational, economic and empowerment opportunities where there are few options to escape extreme poverty. A California native, Lacey has been a Sister of Mercy since 1966. G.K. Chesterton tells the story of a person--let's call him Joe-... posted on Apr 24 2019 (8,054 reads)

The Seasons of the Soul, by Hermann Hesse, Ludwig Max Fischer
Seasons of the Soul: The Poetic Guidance and Spiritual Wisdom of Hermann Hesse, translated and with commentary by Ludwig Max Fischer, published by North Atlantic Books, English translation and commentary copyright © 2011 by Ludwig Max Fischer.  All poems by Hermann Hesse from Sämtliche Werke, Band 10: Die Gedichte, copyright © 2002 by Suhrkamp Verlag GmbH, all rights reserved and controlled through Suhrkamp Verlag Berlin. Reprinted by permission of North Atlantic Books. Nature: Source of Strength and Solace (commentary from Ludwig Max Fischer, Phd) Nature was Hesse’s first and foremost teacher: the garden, the forest, an... posted on Jun 9 2019 (8,751 reads)

How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World, by Catriona Mitchell
Atwood describes The Gift, by Lewis Hyde, as ‘a book about the core nature of what it is that artists do, and also about the relation of these activities to our overwhelmingly commercial society.’ Bill Viola has called it ‘the best book I have read on what it means to be an artist in today’s economic world.’ Robin McKenna is the writer, director and producer of a new feature-length documentary inspired by Hyde’s bestseller. Her film, GIFT, takes us to settings as varied as the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, a potlatch ceremony in British Columbia, and an art museum in Melbourne, to explore some contemporary ways of being wher... posted on May 23 2019 (5,467 reads)

Meet Fadak: Australia's Inspiring Refugee Advocate, by Lizzie Marton
Marton speaks with Fadak Alfayadh Fadak Alfayadh spent her childhood in Iraq—a country that shifted from one world to an entirely different, “unliveable” one seemingly overnight. 15 years ago Fadak sought refuge with her family in Australia, where they received little support from the system but were welcomed by their community in Dandenong, Victoria. Today, Fadak is paving the way for the refugees who have arrived in her wake. Her “Meet Fadak” tours combat the misperceptions that the Australian community holds about those seeking asylum and the narratives we so often hear in mainstream media, while her work as a community lawyer helps support and sett... posted on Jun 24 2019 (3,164 reads)

The Table of Voices, by Richard Whittaker
met Richard Kamler at a party. Most of the party-goers had been on the program at the 2010 Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA. Many were also listed in the Women's Environmental Art Directory. Looking around, I saw only two or three familiar faces and, intent on making new acquaintances, I found myself chatting with one person after another. Among them was an older man, slight of build, who was particularly easy to talk with. After awhile, I realized I'd heard about him before: Richard Kamler.      Didn't he have a radio program in San Francisco where he talked with artists? A friend had once suggested I contact him thinking we would hit it off, especial... posted on Jun 26 2019 (3,795 reads)