from On Being, of an interview between Krista Tippett and Jane Hirshfield. You can listen to the audio of this interview here. Transcription by Heather Wang  Krista Tippett:The esteemed poet Jane Hirshfield has been a Zen monk and a visiting artist among neuroscientists. She’s said this: “It’s my nature to question, to look at the opposite side. I believe that the best writing also does this … It tells us that where there is sorrow, there will be joy; where there is joy, there will be sorrow … The acknowledgement of the fully complex scope of being is why good art thrills … Acknowledging the fullness of things,” she insists... posted on Jan 12 2022 (4,488 reads)

Evergreen State College and something cracked open in me in such an immense, radically different and wildly profound way that it changed my style of creative expression, my perspective and my life for ever more. A Great and Mysterious Something had rushed through me. This Great Something was a poem but so much more than a poem. It was a catalyzing, paradigm tipping flood of enlivened inspired energy that carved a new channel in my being. The words were elegant and exact, unlocking and joyful, precise and free, inspired and loving. The poem came through me as fast as I could write it, in no more than two minutes and needed almost no editing. What came through in this experien... posted on Apr 6 2022 (4,250 reads)

written, “alive and alert to the holy communion of the human condition, which takes place on more altars than anyone can count.” She’s written other books since, with titles like An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others. Being in the presence of Barbara Brown Taylor’s wonderfully wise and meandering mind and spirit, after all these years of knowing her voice in the world, is a true joy. I might even use a religious word — it feels like a “blessing.” And this is not a conversation about the decline of church or about more and more people being “spiritual b... posted on Aug 26 2023 (4,215 reads)

that is already within you," she says. Power of One Looking for a way that she could use her job as a flight attendant to serve the world, Nancy Rivard thought of an idea: volunteers could deliver medical supplies, school materials and plain old love to needy children in the United States and abroad, travelling at the same low fares airline employees receive. "I knew that if I could expose people to the types of helping experiences I'd had, they would find the same joy and fulfillment," she says. Nancy wanted to share the love she was so vividly experiencing. Excited about her proposals, she took them to upper management, where she was working. But all her ... posted on Oct 9 2012 (18,402 reads)

Saturday’s race. Van Beek watched Maddy complete the Grand Rapids Marathon in 2009 with The Ride of Their Lives program, a local club that pushes disabled children and adults in events like the River Bank Run. That’s when Van Beek decided he wanted to be the one pushing Maddy. The Van Beeks also have a daughter, Rachel, 14, and a son, Hunter, 8, and they participate in a number of sports. But with running, Van Beek finally had an activity that he and his daughter can enjoy together. But he had to make some big lifestyle changes before he could chase his dream. "I wouldn’t say that it has been easy," he said. "We do spend tons of time w... posted on Oct 16 2012 (12,372 reads)

different set of rules.  The boundaries aren’t so easy to decipher.  Your state of being inherently affects my state of being. This isn’t feel-good talk. It’s actual science. Research shows that, in close proximity, when people feel connected, their individual heart-beats actually start to synchronize -- even with zero physical contact.  In neuroscience, the discovery of mirror neurons has shown us that we literally do feel each other’s pain -- and joy.   And joy is *definitely* not a zero-sum game.  The law of abundance says that if I give you a smile, that's not one less smile for me.   The more I smile, the more I *do... posted on May 27 2013 (548,769 reads)

several decades, you have been living a rather privileged life—one filled with the entitlement of being free from many societal obligations in order to think, to learn, to reason, to question, and to create. It is now time for you to more fully appreciate that gift by continuing to be a studious student for the rest of your life. As you do so, in Life 2.0, you will add on the commitment of making your community and your nation better in every way that you can. For me, my continual joy in being a somewhat ever-older student means that I am always filled with curiosity and wonder, asking why, discovering how, challenging ignorance, and demanding evidence for all assertions by the... posted on Jul 25 2013 (119,637 reads)

I did not revisit the location until 1990 when all of a sudden I discovered that I had all these primal impressions of what it's like to be home in nature. The smells of Hawaii, the sounds of the surf, of all the places that I've recorded in Hawaii, and I've recorded all the islands in Hawaii for an exhibit on endangered species for the Smithsonian Institution because Hawaii, unfortunately, has the title of highest density of endangered species. But I found the sound that I enjoyed most was the sound of the silence in the volcano. The measurement of decibels actually goes into the minus point, but there still is a sense of presence, of where you are. Then once you get over... posted on Oct 18 2013 (38,875 reads)

patterns and linkages between disease and poverty, the relationship between social justice and life expectancy and how the battle then, as now, was about dignity and human rights. And here is the point as you go forward. Somehow, these two sides of our national health debate--one outward looking at social justice and inclusion and one looking inward at high quality patient care that is exclusionary, met then and must meet now on sacred ground, sharing the profound obligation -- and great joy -- of improving the health of the people. The fire of that battle in the 60s and early 70s catalyzed great expansion in public health. New areas of study and practice - medical care organizatio... posted on Oct 25 2013 (17,911 reads)

like this entry from March 2012, on the third anniversary of the Kepler telescope launch. She wrote: "I am inspired by the way that science connects us to one another, transcending borders, transcending time. I am inspired by the way that science is reuniting us with the universe, with these distant places in the galaxy which are becoming destinations — real worlds in their own right with their own stories and … who knows what else." Ms. Tippett: I've really enjoyed just digging into things you've written, interviews you've given, watching the panel you were on at World Science Festival and also looking at your Facebook page, which is wonderfully pr... posted on Jan 29 2014 (26,340 reads)

the world we find. For me, we find this beauty through relationships, with people in place with other species. Integrity is the word that comes to mind. Integrity and presence. A friend of mine said to me not long ago, "Terry you are married to sorrow." I looked at him and said, "No, I am not married to sorrow, I just choose not to look away." To not avert our eyes to suffering is to trust the power of presence. Joy emerges through suffering. Suffering is a component of joy. Whether we are sitting with a loved one dying or witnessing dolphins side-by-side watching the oil burning in the Gulf of Mexico, to be present with the world is to be alive. I think of Rilke onc... posted on Mar 22 2014 (12,463 reads)

would one day be included in the Library of Congress digital archive of “materials of historical importance” and the few friends would become millions of monthly readers all over the world, ranging from the Dutch high school student who wrote to me this morning to my 77-year-old grandmother in Bulgaria to the person in Wisconsin who mailed me strudel last week. (Thank you!) Above all, I had no idea that in the seven years to follow, this labor of love would become my greatest joy and most profound source of personal growth, my life and my living, my sense of purpose, my center. (For the curious, more on the origin story here.) Illustration by Maurice Sendak... posted on Mar 18 2014 (42,920 reads)

blue-collar city called Springfield, Ohio. I was surrounded by family, including 2 loving parents who cared so much about our education that they home-schooled us for several years during grade school. And they took the time to teach us more than academics. They taught us about character, about what it meant to live a good life. My father often talked to us about his definition of success. He told us that it wasn't measured in money and material things, but it was measured in love and joy and the lives you're able to touch -- the lives you're able to help. And my parents walked the walk. They gave of themselves to our church. They took in foster kids and helped the homeless... posted on Jun 29 2014 (29,706 reads)

in the world. A month and a half later, he did it again with Grateful, a musical offering inspired by the 11.5K participants and their small acts throughout the 21-Day Gratitude Challenge. In the tailwinds of these heart-opening productions, Nimo has most recently embarked on a pilgrimage to bridge music, love and selfless service, through Empty Hands Music. Over the last year, he has produced a new genre of hip-hop that ignites the values of kindness, gratitude, service, love, and joy. In May 2014, the Empty Hands album was released as a 100% labor-of-love gift, downloadable at no cost for all who wish to listen to it. The immediate response from many after listening to the&nbs... posted on Jun 16 2014 (47,801 reads)

as important, this culture of violence can be systematically reversed through interlinked, personal and political action. For Rice, Walli and Boertje-Obed, this process ends with “the transformation of weapons of mass destruction to sustainable life-giving alternatives,” but it starts by modeling a radically different set of relationships with other people wherever they are. What shines out from Rice’s writings is always life over death, love over fear, and joyful subversion instead of the passive acceptance of our circumstances. “Dear sisters and brothers,” she begins her letters to her supporters, “united as we are in efforts to tr... posted on Oct 1 2014 (33,827 reads)

offer to share his meal with a friend when we ran out of lunches. We offered a meal to a homeless man sitting on a bench who had a line up of packets of butter and jam that he had to eat. When we offered him lunch, he scooped up every package of butter and jam and offered them to me in kind. There is nothing you could have offered me that would have touched me as deeply as his gesture. The other thing I learned is how suspicious we all have become when you offer up something for the sheer joy of it - cold drinks on a hot day, flowers for women on Mother's Day, valentines, a compliment or a hot drink for a cold bus ride. We have been so socialized into being suspicious and we are... posted on Feb 13 2015 (35,893 reads)

exclaimed, ignoring my comment about his camera. “I’ve got to get a picture of that! Just a couple of days ago, there was a great one and I missed it! Did you see it?” He paused to look at me with genuine hopefulness. Smith’s speech was declamatory and amped-up a notch or two as if to penetrate some invisible barrier. There was so much beauty around! The views across the bay! The fog! The trees and flowers! A hawk! A dog! The light! A feast! And only so much time to enjoy it. Not enough, likely, and whatever the impropriety of walking down a stranger’s driveway to capture such a moment, it was worth any disturbance it might stir up.  Names When we... posted on Feb 15 2015 (12,348 reads)

say that’s an open question. Here’s how ServiceSpace introduced our conversation: “Our guest speaker, Lily Yeh, took on an initiative that transformed an abandoned lot in inner-city north Philadelphia into an art park. The park blossomed into the Village of Arts and Humanities—an organization that has built many more art parks and gardens, renovated abandoned homes, and created educational programs, art workshops, after-school programs, a youth theater, and joyful community celebrations. Lily’s new organization, Barefoot Artists Inc., now teaches residents and artists how to replicate the Village model in devastated communities around the world.&rd... posted on Feb 22 2015 (25,090 reads)

even know if she’ll take to the nickname we’ve given her. There is perhaps only one thing to say to this infant, who is all future, overlapping briefly with me, whose life, barring the improbable, is all but past. That message is simple: When you come to one of the many moments in life when you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount that you filled a dying man’s days with a sated joy, a joy unknown to me in all my prior years, a joy that does not hunger for more and more, but rests, satisfied. In this time, right now, that is an enormous thing. ... posted on Mar 30 2015 (65,881 reads)

guilty about leaving my mother behind, and I was worried that my bosses wouldn't be able to find me for three days. And as soon as I arrived in that place, I realized that none of that mattered and that, really, by being here, I would have so much more to offer my mother and my friends and my bosses. The last thing I'll say about this is that nowadays when I visit my mother, she lives in the hills of California at exactly the same elevation as the monastery — 1200 feet, and she enjoys a beautiful view over the Pacific Ocean. And to anybody looking at her house, they would say it's the last word in tranquility and seclusion. But of course, when I’m at home, if ever... posted on Jul 10 2015 (20,006 reads)