Kindness: The First Gift
"Kindness has gracious eyes; it is not small-minded or competitive; it wants nothing back for itself... Kindness casts a different light, an evening light that has the depth of color and patience to illuminate what is complex and rich in difference." John O'Donohue takes us on an eloquent exploration of kindness and its role in the unfolding universe.... posted on Nov 28 2014, 47,291 reads

Finding Those Three Magical Words
How easy is it to "love your neighbor" when your intoxicated neighbor wakes you up in the middle of the night and insults you? For people dedicated to the path of nonviolence, like Arun Dada and his wife Mira Ba, it's not only the right thing to do, it's the only thing you can do. Instead of getting angry, they chose to try and transform the relationship through compassion. And in doing so they i... posted on Nov 27 2014, 35,868 reads

College For All: Sebastian Thrun, Udacity
Most employers agree that new graduates lack the skills necessary to succeed. And yet, the cost of college tuition is rising far faster than the average family can afford. The frustration is clear; change is desperately needed. Now, thanks to innovators like Udacity and Coursera, and the advent of "massive open online courses" (MOOCs), both students and employers are being assured a much more pred... posted on Nov 26 2014, 13,140 reads

Sources of Light
When Kobun Otogawa was asked in the wake of 9/11, "How can I deal with the enormous fear and anger that I feel about what happened?" He replied simply, "Do one kind thing for someone every day." And though the advice might seem overly simplistic, it does cause us to realize - that it is through our own light that this world can be made a little brighter. ... posted on Nov 25 2014, 17,820 reads

How To Realize True Wealth
The world is filled with abundance, but because we stay tuned into what we do not have, we can spend our lives grasping for more, never really arriving. In this heart-felt piece, Americ Azevedo at the University of California, Berkeley, asks us to awaken to the true and profound wealth we have all been blessed with. "To awaken to this very moment is truth wealth. This moment is in truth all we rea... posted on Nov 24 2014, 21,170 reads

Is There A Right Way To Get Angry?
Anger can cause us a great deal of hurt, but it can also be a positive force that propels us to act and can spur creativity and fuel success. It is all about how we manage our anger in those instances when we feel overwhelmed by it. Read further to learn more about 'the right way' to get angry and how you can harness your anger for good. ... posted on Nov 23 2014, 28,471 reads

Vancouver's Pop-Up Shelters
A Vancouver-based advertising company teamed up with a grassroots advocacy group to extend kindness to the city's homeless population in a beautifully creative way. "During the day, the [bus] benches serve as seating for those waiting for the bus to arrive. At night, the front lifts up and out to create an overhang." Acts of kindness like these stand out against the backdrop of many cities making ... posted on Nov 22 2014, 22,154 reads

Public Art: A Path To Safer, Stronger Neighborhoods
Art that merges with the landscape brings human presence, safety, and physical activity into the city's spaces. This kind of art triggers more than one sense: it is something you move in, touch, and, in some cases, even eat. In Detroit, a spread-out city of single-family homes that is difficult to traverse and pockmarked by vacancy, these artistic interventions are an uncommonly powerful nexus of ... posted on Nov 21 2014, 13,329 reads

7 Ideas For Compassionate Communities
Are you looking for inspiring ideas to take action on some of society's broadest and most challenging issues? From addressing homelessness to providing medical care (in exchange for a song), look no further than this list of 7 revolutionary ideas from Yes Magazine.... posted on Nov 20 2014, 19,260 reads

Riders For Health: Motorcycles That Save Lives
Solving community problems requires more than newer and better technology for the poor. It requires something more radical than that--that we rehumanize the poor. People require not only new technologies to solve some of the biggest challenges in rural health and development, they require basic technologies--like transportation for the cadres of health care workers and others. Riders for Health re... posted on Nov 19 2014, 10,487 reads