A Survivor's Sunrise Ritual
No two sunrises are ever the same. Debbie Wagner knows this better than almost anyone else. With earnest devotion, she has risen in the darkness more than 2,200 times so she could observe and paint the sunrise. She's rarely missed a morning since December 2005; for Wagner, the daily ritual is sustaining. "As a brain-tumor survivor, I lost so many of the loves I had, like reading and writing and ma... posted on Feb 06 2012, 4,983 reads

A Guide to Finding Your Passion
"Following your passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive. I'm lucky -- I've found my passion, and I'm living it. I can testify that it's the most wonderful thing, to be able to make a living doing what you love. And so, in this little guide, I'd like to help you get started figuring out what you'd love doing. This will be the thing that will get ... posted on Feb 05 2012, 86,237 reads

The Green School in Bali
With natural light and a breeze that passes through, John Hardy's dream of building a green school comes alive in Bali. Created with bamboo architecture, no walls and a diverse range of teachers, this school not only teaches reading, writing, and arithmetic but also teaches how to reconnect to nature, endeavoring to develop future green leaders from 25 different countries. This 14 minute TED talk ... posted on Feb 04 2012, 4,198 reads

Training the Mind to Find Happiness
"At first, I sat on a couch cushion in the middle of my living room, and meditated for 5 minutes using my kitchen timer. At the beginning, I experienced what the book referred to as a 'waterfall' of thoughts. Having never tried to focus my mind on something so simple as respiration, so many thoughts poured down on me: 'What am I going to have for lunch?' 'What if this doesn't work?' 'I should do a... posted on Feb 03 2012, 26,635 reads

Vinny Ferraro: The Heartful Dodger
One bitter night, in the rough end of New Haven, fifteen-year-old Vinny Ferraro and his gang were hanging out as usual by the projects when a chance encounter with a homeless man (who they were assaulting) changed the course of the rest of his life. "I didn't know what compassion meant when I was fifteen. But I knew that that homeless guy had seen my heart. And that was scary. I had done my best t... posted on Feb 02 2012, 16,326 reads

10 Keys for Achieving Group Flow
Recent scientific research reveals that great creativity almost always springs from collaboration, conversation, and social networks -- challenging our mythical image of the isolated genius. Keith Sawyer has been studying the phenomenon known as "flow," where we get so absorbed in a task that we lose track of time; it's what some people refer to as being "in the zone." Research shows that when a g... posted on Feb 01 2012, 41,365 reads

Lessons from a 7-yr-old's Heartwarming Letter
Sometimes the greatest lessons come unexpectedly, and from the smallest moments. 7-year-old Owen Shure's heart-warming letter to a football player is a perfect example. The Twittersphere buzzed with reactions to the San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Williams fumbling the ball in a tight moment in the playoffs. Some responses were downright vitriolic. But hopefully Kyle also saw this touching story from Be... posted on Jan 31 2012, 22,402 reads

The Visionary Architecture of Paolo Soleri
Architect Paolo Soleri is regarded as a visionary, much to his dismay. His thought and vision combines the ethical and the metaphysical in terms of how to structure and build our cities. He says, for example, "We have reached the point where we understand the appearance of self-awareness is one of the most incredible things that's happened in the universe. So, slowly we are developing some kind of... posted on Jan 30 2012, 5,171 reads

Man Builds Fairy Tale Home -- For $4700
"Simon Dale is a family man in Wales, the western part of Great Britain. His interest in self-sustainability and an ecological awareness led him to dig out and build his own home -- one of the loveliest, warmest, most inviting dwellings you could ever imagine. And it cost him only $4,700. Can you imagine a more charming entrance than this?"... posted on Jan 28 2012, 220,072 reads

Road Trip Nation
"I'd feel so much better about the world we live in if being 'passionate' or 'inspired' was a national standard instead of so much of the academic trivia that is mandated," a high school teacher wrote. Working with 11th graders in his capacity as college advisor, he was helping them explore how their own passions could lead to further study and possible career choices. In the process, he introduce... posted on Jan 27 2012, 4,615 reads