To All Artists Known and Unknown
"The radiant little man died at the Art Institute. I knew he was homeless and hanging out at the school, but I was unaware that he was living there. He died of exposure over Christmas break, and when...
View ArticleThe Left Shoe
Remember the joy of a new pair of shoes? This beautiful film, based on a story attributed to Gandhi's life, depicts the lives of two boys. It is the first film by then, 20-year old filmmaker, Sarah...
View ArticleThey & The Emotional Weight of Words
"Language is the space in which we carve a place for ourselves, where we demand to be seen. A reflection point for culture, community, and family to acknowledge our existence on our terms." For many,...
View ArticleThirteen Ways of Looking at Community
Whether we know it or not, like it or not, honor it or not, we are embedded in community. Whether we think of ourselves as biological creatures or spiritual beings or both, the truth remains: we were...
View ArticleRunning as Spiritual Practice
"For the Summer Olympics, we explore a topic our listeners have called out as a passionate force and a connector across all kinds of boundaries in American culture: running. Not just as exercise, or as...
View ArticleThe Loneliness of the Modern Nomad
Author Kira Newman shares insights from Melody Warnick's new book, "This Is Where You Belong," where Warnick chronicles her own journey toward "place attachment," a series of research-backed...
View ArticleReclaiming Friendship
Is friendship indispensable or have we corroded its meaning by applying the word too often when we mean 'acquaintance' or colleague? C.S. Lewis believed that friendship, "like philosophy, like art,...
View ArticleMeasuring What Makes Life Worthwhile
When the dotcom bubble burst, hotelier Chip Conley went in search of a business model based on happiness. In an old friendship with an employee and in the wisdom of a Buddhist king, he learned that...
View ArticleMartin Levya: Don't Ever Give Up
Martin Leyva did time for robbery but knew when he walked out of Chino State Prison he would never come back. He would transform his life. In a remarkable story, a blend of perseverance and the world...
View ArticleThe Present
The Present, based on a comic strip by Brazilian artist Fabio Coala, is a 2014 graduation short from the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie...
View ArticleElizabeth Gilbert: Choosing Curiosity Over Fear
Her name is synonymous with her fantastically best-selling memoir Eat Pray Love. But through the disorienting process of becoming a global celebrity, Elizabeth Gilbert has also reflected deeply on the...
View ArticleThe Effortless Effort of Creativity
"Every good poem begins in language awake to its own connections -- language that hears itself and what is around it, sees itself and what is around it, looks back at those who look into its gaze and...
View ArticleThe Dream We Haven't Dared to Dream
What are your dreams? Better yet, what are your broken dreams? Dan Pallotta dreams of a time when we are as excited, curious and scientific about the development of our humanity as we are about the...
View ArticleThe Fine Art of Taking Time
"When I tell people I'm an artist they usually tell me they can't draw. I'm not sure when art became conflated with realistically representing things by making marks on surfaces, but I bet it was...
View ArticleA Fun Way to Stop Buying Things You Don't Need
"A few years ago, illustrator and editorial cartoonist Sarah Lazarovic felt like she was buying too much junk. So she stopped shopping for a year, then documented her withdrawals and, eventually, all...
View ArticleA Special Kind of Grace: The Remarkable Story of the Devadosses
He is a writer and an artist whose captivating pen-and-ink drawings, books and greeting cards reflect the beauty of southern India. His wife helped compose his work. What makes their story...
View ArticlePerseverance is Willingness, Not Will
"Persevering does not mean being rigid and fixed, but flowing like water, willing to meet the conditions at hand yet never giving up...Things happen all the time in this world that can make you feel as...
View ArticleBreathing Love into a Community
Brothers Atman and Ali Smith, and their "brother from another mother" Andres Gonzales decided in college that after they graduated, they were going to do something about the suffering they saw in the...
View ArticleOn the Relationship Between Failure, Humility and Wisdom
"Failure is like the original sin in the biblical narrative," according to philosophy professor Costica Bradatan, who is writing a book to be called "In Praise of Failure." He says that "regardless of...
View ArticleBuried Treasure: The Story of a Marriage
"Like most marriages, I guess, we were a mixed bag of personality differences, varied preferences, unexamined childhood traumas, weaknesses and strengths, hopes and passions. I think he and I partnered...
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