What I've Learned About Learning
"I'm a lifelong learner and am always obsessively studying something, whether that's breadmaking or language or wine or chess or writing or fitness. Here are two key lessons -- both really the same lesson -- I've learned about learning, in all my years of study and in trying to teach people: Almost everything I've learned, I didn't learn in school; and almost everything my students (and kids) have... posted on Jul 01 2012, 21,707 reads

What A Plant Knows
"As I was planting my seasonal crop of tomatoes last month, a good friend (and my personal gardening guru) informed me that they liked their leaves rubbed, "like petting a pet's ears," which I received with equal parts astonishment, amusement, and mild concern for my friend. But, as Tel Aviv University biologist Daniel Chamovitz reveals in What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses (public li... posted on Jun 30 2012, 15,035 reads

The Business 9 Women Kept Secret For 30 Years
"Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women -- or "The 9 Nanas," as they prefer to be called -- gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine -- a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. Over the next three hours, The 9 Nanas (who all consider themselves sisters, despite what some of their birth certificates say) will whip... posted on Jun 29 2012, 1,770,939 reads

Food. People. Power.
For many years, people living in West Oakland had accepted eating unhealthy food as a way of life. That is, until a small group of people decided to change their community through Mandela MarketPlace, a non-profit that partners with local residents and rural, minority farmers to bring fresh agricultural produce to their local corner stores. Mandela MarketPlace now represents the difference that yo... posted on Jun 28 2012, 2,396 reads

Worth Our Weight: The Taste of Compassion
"I glance down at my GPS to make sure this is where we want to be and in doing so I almost pass my destination. There it is tucked away to the left, sandwiched between two homes: Worth our Weight (W.O.W). The whimsical name brings to mind a weight-loss program or some sort of preemptive apologetic reassurance for long lines. This restaurant has neither. The front is clean, simple and inviting, wit... posted on Jun 27 2012, 11,885 reads

Behind the Beautiful Forevers
"My husband is an Indian citizen, and since we met in 2001, I've been watching the landscape of his country transform as its economy grows. Some of the change is staggeringly obvious, like the skyscraping luxury condominiums with stirring views of other skyscraping luxury condominiums. But I couldn't quite make out what had and hadn't changed in historically poor communities. I generally find issu... posted on Jun 26 2012, 5,677 reads

Rediscovering the Lost Art of Blessing
"In his writing the mystic poet John O'Donohue encourages all of us to rediscover our power to bless one another. I've become enchanted with this invitation, regardless of whether we define a blessing as being a wish or a prayer, whether we conceive it as coming from us or through us or whether we offer blessings through what we say, write, or think. In any of these forms, the act of blessing ano... posted on Jun 25 2012, 22,966 reads

Three Qualities of the New Politician
There are plenty of politicians who genuinely desire to serve their communities and nations with humility and integrity, dedicating their lives to the cultivation of a wisdom that will benefit society at large; sadly, they are a minority. Politics has become a degraded profession. In this thought provoking piece, James O'dea, who has spent decades of his life in cultivating peace through channel... posted on Jun 23 2012, 14,839 reads

Stranger Dinners
A few years ago, Ari Davalos started an art project called Stranger Dinner -- invite six strangers to dinner at her house. In a world separated by Internet connections, she aimed to reclaim the serendipity in her life. "Instead of going to the library and researching on the internet, I want to stroll through the stacks, smell the pages of old books, pick a random book off the shelf, and let some ... posted on Jun 22 2012, 13,031 reads

10 Ways to Love Where You Live
Community is not just for extroverts. For thousands of years, our ancestors lived in barrios, hamlets, neighborhoods, and villages. Yet in the time since our parents and grandparents were young, privacy has become so valued that many neighborhoods are not much more than houses in proximity...And when the links among neighbors are weak, security relies on locks, gates, and guns, rather than a close... posted on Jun 21 2012, 34,560 reads