What Did Sisyphus Dream Of?
"In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned by Zeus to endlessly try to push a large rock to the top of a hill, an activity Zeus had rigged so that as it neared the top, the rock would roll away from...
View ArticleHard Times Require Furious Dancing
"I am the youngest of eight siblings. Five of us have died. I share losses, health concerns, and other challenges common to the human condition, especially in these times of war, poverty, environmental...
View ArticleA Pandemic Poem-Prayer
Phyllis Cole-Dai is a writer and poet, perhaps best known for 'The Emptiness of Our Hands', a spiritual memoir chronicling the 47 days that she and co-author James Murray practiced "being present"...
View ArticleHidden Stories: Paintings by Diane Ding
Painter Diane Ding reflects, "Painting this series was a healing practice. I do my art and hope it can spark my imagination in new ways, and only then do I hope the work can spark reactions in others...
View ArticleThe Dynamic Mystery of Relationships
"The more open, present and awake we are, the less objective our relationships become. So-called relationship becomes simple relating. The noun transforms into a verb -- an apparent thing opens up into...
View ArticleAdvice from 100-Year-Olds
Three centenarians were asked the secret of their longevity. With simple grace and wisdom they give us an insight into the optimism and humor that sustain them. as they each share what is most...
View ArticleWorld At Dawn
"At dawn, the world rises out of darkness, slowly, sense-grain by grain, as if from sleep. Life becomes visible once again. "When it is dark, it seems to me as if I were dying, and I can't think...
View ArticleEverything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong
What really causes addiction -- to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to...
View ArticleRobin Wall Kimmerer on the Language of Animacy
In the English language, we reserve the pronouns of personhood for humans-- he, she, they--and not for animals, plants, and landscapes. Yet in many of Americas indigenous languages, such barriers are...
View ArticleWe Have to Talk: A Checklist for Difficult Conversations
"There are dozens of books on the topic of difficult, crucial, challenging, fierce, important conversations. Those times when you know you should talk to someone, but you don't. Maybe you've tried and...
View ArticleEmpathy vs Sympathy
Empathy and sympathy are not just two different approaches to confronting the emotional challenges of others; they are diametrically opposite responses in many important ways. Sympathy places another's...
View ArticleNonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
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 Nonviolent...
View ArticleHood Feminism: A Call For Solidarity
"In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women....
View ArticleFreedom in Prison: The Story of My Great-Grandfather
Aryae Coopersmith recounts the moving story of his great-grandfather Shmuel, a Talmud scholar who was forced war front in Bosnia-Herzegovinae. When it was discovered he didn't have the makings of a...
View ArticleBig Picture Competition: Celebrating Earth's Diversity
Now in its seventh year, BigPicture encourages photographers from around the world to contribute their work to a competition that both celebrates and illustrates the rich diversity of life on Earth,...
View ArticleDesigning Schools of the Future
"We are building a state-of-the-art Formula 1 engine in the body of an old, broken-down Buick, and wondering why the car won't go."While pedagogical methods have advanced tremendously in recent...
View ArticleIris Murdoch on Storytelling & Why Art is Essential to Democracy
"A good society contains many different artists doing many different things. A bad society coerces artists because it knows that they can reveal all kinds of truths." This post from Brain Pickings...
View ArticleThe Holocaust Survivor Who Forgave the Nazis
In this beautifully animated film, Holocaust survivor Eva Kor tells the powerful story of her time in Auschwitz, where she, along with her twin sister Miriam, were used as human guinea pigs, subjected...
View Articlejohn powell on Othering & Belonging
john a. powell is one of the foremost public intellectuals in the areas of civil rights, racism, ethnicity, housing and poverty. Despite a distinguished career, powell spells his name in lowercase on...
View ArticleKate Raworth: Renegade Economist
"Kate Raworth is an economist. A renegade, maverick, rockstar economist. After graduating from Oxford University, she worked in the villages of Zanzibar with micro entrepreneurs, co-authored the Human...
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