Thomas Merton and the Language of Life, by John Justin David
early Greeks defined presence as the fundamental characteristic of being alive.1  I believe it is not easy for any of us to be fully present, and that we settle for shadows and glimpses, for fleeting moments that sift through our hands and are gone. We may become clouded from impinging distractions as we are carried into countless pressures, anxieties, and demands; or else we try to escape through the many abundant and tempting means at our disposal; or we seek to overpower obstacles through adrenalin-driven pursuits, or with our intellects, determination, and skillful maneuvers, or by other strengths and capabilities, continually striving for something out of reach, or... posted on Oct 26 2020 (6,022 reads)

Remembering Our Way Forward, by Rose Zonetti
has carried me through a year that has been marked by the pandemics of Covid-19 and racism, political strife, and an escalating climate crisis. I’ve held close – as gently as possible — reliable truisms: Change is the only constant. Life tends toward life. I affirm: I’m not alone. In the end, death comes to us all — I have only to decide how to live life now. Showing up for myself, for others, and for what I care about — with all my human imperfectness — makes me more alive. I ask myself: What is the opportunity? What remains true? These words certainly don’t solve the ongoing and pervasive strain, grief,... posted on Nov 16 2020 (6,429 reads)

Lessons in the Old Language, by Matthew C. Bronson
the very earliest time When both people and animals lived on earth A person could become an animal if he wanted to and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference. All spoke the same language That was the time when words were like magic. The human mind had mysterious powers. A word spoken by chance might have strange consequences. It would suddenly come alive and what people wanted to happen could happen— all you had to do was say it. Nobody could explain this: That’s the way it was. -- Nalungiaq, Inuit woman interviewed by ethnologist Knud Rasmussen in the early twentieth century. The ... posted on Dec 5 2020 (7,439 reads)

KindSpring: Top 10 Stories of 2020, by KindSpring Editors
who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that 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 Frankl Every year we share the top 10 most inspiring kindness stories featured on our website or the weekly newsletter throughout the year. These stories range from chance encounters of anonymous acts of kindness to deliberate, thoughtful ways that everyday people choose to make the... posted on Jan 2 2021 (12,956 reads)

We Must Deepen Our Capacity for Healing, by DailyGood Editors
the wake of disturbing recent events in America's capital, community leaders, activists, authors, artists and teachers are speaking up for justice and peace. Here we share timely reflections, resources and inspiration from various voices that DailyGood has featured over the years. Parker Palmer: Author, educator, activist Wed., Jan. 6, 2021, is now engraved in American history as yet another date that reveals how fragile our democracy is—and how strong. Like a KKK rally, the insurrection brought us face-to-face with an evil that has lived among and within too many Americans from the start of this country. Many have been laid low by this latest edition of u... posted on Jan 9 2021 (8,868 reads)

What Mediators Can Do to Strengthen Democracy (+50 Questions to Ask in Political Arguments), by Kenneth Cloke
Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution, a world-recognized mediator, dialogue facilitator, conflict resolution systems designer, teacher and more. Given the political polarization, deep divisiveness and unrest rearing its head in the United States, he recently shared a detailed list of 10 actions that can help us transform autocratic, power-based political conflicts into democratic, collaborative efforts. In addition he offered up a set of 50 questions that can be used in political arguments with friends and family to help make true dialog possible, and more productive. The following posts are sourced from Kenneth Cloke's Facebook... posted on Jan 10 2021 (16,111 reads)

The Sword & The Shield: The Struggle for Black Freedom in America, by Awakin Call Editors
Dr. Peniel Joseph was growing up in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s, a child of a Haitian immigrant single mother, he learned about how the civil rights movement had transformed America, ended legalized segregation, secured black voting rights and moved the nation closer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a "beloved community." Yet his own lived experience involved fielding racial slurs at his mostly white high school in Queens, and in other ways absorbing the racial divisions that persisted in the social, political and cultural landscape of New York City in that day. This included an incident that shaped his early life, in which a black man was chased to d... posted on Jan 12 2021 (2,688 reads)

Fallow & Productive, Creativity & COVID-19, by Mirka Knaster
year will certainly go down in history—world history and personal history. We each have a story to tell about how the pandemic has affected us and those we know. One of good fortune is about staying safe and healthy; one of misfortune is about getting sick and dying. I am grateful that other aspects are not so dire, not so black and white. In some recent discussions with friends who are also creatives, I have heard a variety of responses to the question, “How has Covid-19 affected your creativity?” Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (1882-1885), by Paul Cézanne. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/... posted on Jan 18 2021 (6,116 reads)

Deschooling Dialogues: On Initiation, Trauma and Ritual with Francis Weller, by Francis Weller, Alnoor Ladha
is an edited transcript of a conversation that took place on November 4, 2020 as part of an interview series titled, Deschooling Dialogues. Alnoor Ladha (AL) interviews Francis Weller (FW), a psychotherapist, writer and activist who pioneered the method of soul-centered psychotherapy. He is the author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief; The Threshold Between Loss and Revelation (with Rashani Réa) and In the Absence of the Ordinary: Essays in a Time of Uncertainty, which is the focus of this interview. The first chapter of the book, Rough Initiations, is featured in Kosmos Journal.  AL: Hello ... posted on Feb 3 2021 (12,532 reads)

The Reverence Movement, by Aqeela Sherrills
of Aqeela Sherrill's TEDx talk below​ S​o it's been a great deal of time​, since we've seen an effective movement​,​ that possess​es​ the power and the capacity to address the deep and seemingly fixed flaws in our society and c​ulture's core​.​ â€‹ A​nd I believe that we now exist in a time where the heart has been prepared for a new movement​. Where love becomes a practice as opposed to an idea​. W​here vulnerability and humi​l​ity becomes s​trengths​ as opposed to weaknesses​.​​ I call this â... posted on Feb 19 2021 (6,296 reads)

All You Need Is Love?, by James Ballantyne
Mallette. CC0 1.0. “Can we dare to think people are kind, and shape organisations around this view?” That’s the question Rutger Bregman examines in his latest book Humankind, and it’s one that anyone involved in youth and community work like me wrestles with on a daily basis. But is Bregman’s optimistic analysis grounded in reality? For anyone who’s read this piece on the “Real Lord of the Flies,” the gist of the first half of Bregman’s book will be familiar. His premise is that despite news reports, social media, politics, religions and ideologies that suggest otherwis... posted on Mar 8 2021 (4,664 reads)

Eldering in the Age of Consumption, by Sharon Blackie, Stephen Jenkinson
does it mean to be elder in today’s world? Sharon Blackie That question inevitably leads me to the related subject of death and dying. As always, when I think about these issues, I’m informed by the native wisdom and mythology of my Celtic roots. I’d like to begin by sharing a short section from my book, If Women Rose Rooted, and then hear from Stephen Jenkinson, writer, author, and the founder of the Orphan Wisdom School in Canada: …a man returned from hunting on Beinn Bhric one day when he heard a sound like the cracking of two rocks against each other. At the base of a large stone by the road, he found a woman with a green sh... posted on Mar 9 2021 (11,423 reads)

Oh For Crying Out Loud, by Barbara McAfee
has been visiting my life a lot in this past year. During those times, I have frequently heard Mary Elizabeth Frye’s well-known poem, “Do No Stand At My Grave and Weep.” This morning as I was lolling abed, I began naming my departed-beloveds in my mind, calling their sweet faces to mind and silently speaking their names one by one. This is one of the ways I honor them and deal with their absence.  In the midst of that familiar ritual, I “heard” a distinct voice speaking into my mind.  This is what it said. Now, Honey.  You just go ahead and stand at my grave and weep.  As a matter of fact, you could fall to the ground if you wante... posted on Mar 13 2021 (12,524 reads)

Her Art Informed Science: Maria Sibylla Merian, by Tanya Latty
women of history: Maria Sibylla Merian, 17th-century entomologist and scientific adventurer A colour portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian by Dutch artist Jacobus Houbraken, circa 1700. Wikimedia Commons Tanya Latty, University of Sydney In this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages. Most school kids can describe in detail the life cycle of butterflies: eggs hatch into caterpillars, caterpillars turn into cocoons and cocoons hatch. This seemingly basic bit of biology was once hotly debated. It was a pioneering naturalist, Maria Sibylla Merian, whose meticulous observations conclusively linked caterpillars to butterflies, laying the groundwork for the ... posted on Jun 13 2021 (6,847 reads)

Changing the World One Map At A Time, by Patrick Meier
have always been a source of fascination and intrigue. Today's maps, however, can also help to save lives during disasters, document human rights abuses and monitor elections in countries under repressive rule. This presentation explores how today's live maps can combine crowds and clouds to drive social change. “The goal of the social good sector must be to end need, not just meet need. This means, for example, that international organizations … must have a transition plan that is centered around devolving power, money and voice to local organizations.” – Patrick Meier When Patrick Meier was 12 years old and living in Africa with his European ... posted on Mar 17 2021 (4,626 reads)

She Convinced a Community to Love a 'Bad Omen', by Emily Sohn
Indian biologist went door-to-door, listening and helping people develop livelihoods, to ultimately save an endangered species. In January 2019, graduate student Tracy Melvin traveled from Michigan State University to India to attend an annual meeting of the Women in Nature Network, a loose collection of female conservationists from around the world. The trip required multiple flights and many hours of travel, but Melvin was eager to join in on conversations about the successes and struggles of conservation projects in a supportive environment. As the conference began, Melvin says, she was impressed to hear what women were accomplishing, especially in low-income countries. But ... posted on Mar 19 2021 (5,688 reads)

Poetry Calls Us To Pause, by Elizabeth Brule Farrell
vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart.   --Carl Jung I have been writing poems since childhood. My notebook became a friend with whom I could have a quiet dialogue. This relationship has continued and sustained me for decades.  It is in observing the small things that make up a daily life that calls me into making a poem. It is the simple topic, a commonality that I choose to explore, so when I walk down a street, open a can of soup, view a fading poster on the wall, or imagine what I might write in wet cement, I ask myself what am I noticing and what is my response in the moment. The action of allowing a pause to set down words wit... posted on Mar 27 2021 (5,235 reads)

Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss, by Nandini Murali
the spring of 2017, Nandini Murali, a South Indian journalist and author, returned from an out-of-town assignment to an eerily quiet home. Typically, her husband would greet her at the front door, but that morning he hadnt answered her phone calls. It was Nandini who discovered his body, and confronted an unfathomable reality. T.R. Murali, one of the most prominent urologists in India, and her beloved husband of 33 years, had ended his own life. "Space dissolved," writes Nandini, of that moment. "Time stood still. The axis of my life heaved, cracked and split." On the first anniversary of her husband's death, Nandini launched SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Postvention E... posted on Apr 13 2021 (6,930 reads)

Motherhood: Facing & Finding Yourself, by Lisa Marchiano
knew I didn’t want children. In college, when a friend confessed a deep longing to become a mother, I couldn’t relate. I had ambitious career plans, and being a mother sounded limiting and ordinary. After college, I worked for a nonproft organisation in Washington, DC. My work felt exciting, important, and meaningful. Deep down, I knew there were many things I needed to do in my life, and I feared that having children would prevent me from fulfilling my potential. Bestselling author and psychologist James Hillman proposed what he called the “acorn theory” of psychological development. He contended that we each enter the world carrying something unique t... posted on Apr 20 2021 (8,316 reads)

Love is the Last Word:Aldous Huxley on Knowledge vs. Understanding and the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness, by Maria Popova
understand anything — another person’s experience of reality, another fundamental law of physics — is to restructure our existing knowledge, shifting and broadening our prior frames of reference to accommodate a new awareness. And yet we have a habit of confusing our knowledge — which is always limited and incomplete: a model of the cathedral of reality, built from primary-colored blocks of fact — with the actuality of things; we have a habit of mistaking the model for the thing itself, mistaking our partial awareness for a totality of understanding. Thoreau recognized this when he contemplated our blinding preconceptions and lamented that “we hear... posted on May 21 2021 (5,730 reads)