there are many things we can do to create a healthier sense of attribution in our lives and society. Start with your own life. Both personally and professionally, I’ve struggled with this question of attribution as my life outcomes are significantly different from those of family members and friends I grew up with. I have at different points in my life felt guilty and undeserving about my own success and angry that society has not provided the same breaks or supports to those I love. In better understanding what my success was attributed to, guilt was replaced by gratitude, and anger assuaged by a newfound knowledge of how to better support others. Reflecting on your li... posted on Aug 5 2023 (2,626 reads)

Essays (public library). He reflects: One must be two persons when one writes… The great problem is to translate what one feels into what one wants others to feel. We call a writer bad when he expresses himself in reference to an inner context the reader cannot know. The mediocre writer is thus led to say anything he pleases. In a sentiment James Baldwin would echo in his advice on writing, insisting that “beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance,” Camus observes that all creative endeavor demands of us “a certain constancy of soul, and a human and literary knowledge of sacrifice.” He wr... posted on Sep 1 2023 (3,306 reads)

go on living with them So that in a forest even a dead tree casts a shadow and the leaves fall one by one and the branches break in the wind and the bark peels off slowly and the trunk cracks and the rain seeps in through the cracks and the trunk falls to the ground and the moss covers it and in the spring the rabbits find it and build their nest inside and have their young and their young will live safely inside the dead tree So that nothing is wasted in nature or in love. ... posted on Sep 30 2023 (8,659 reads)

Take your time. Friends are one of life’s greatest joys. Befriend people who make you feel like you belong rather than those who encourage you to change to fit in. Words have the power to slice through bone, and each person you meet is fighting an invisible battle. Be kind. Stay safe. Stay safe. Stay safe. Your wild energy is a gift you will learn to harness, do not let anyone convince you otherwise. Remember there is nothing you can tell me that will change how much I love you. Come home. Come home. Come home.    ... posted on Oct 2 2023 (5,180 reads)

urban, lefty lesbian, smiling like, waving like a dork. (Laughter) When I spotted the stuffed cougar on the wall behind him, this vegetarian thought she knew all she needed to know about Don the bootmaker. But there we were. So I asked him if he'd just show me quickly a little bit about his craft. He agreed. And we ended up spending the whole day together, as I drew out Don in his workshop, and he told me about the sudden death of his beloved wife, about his deep, deep grief, and about this hunting trip that he was planning, and so looking forward to taking with his son. Every tool in that shop held a story. ... posted on Oct 21 2023 (4,883 reads)

has trained us to be more ambitious for the ‘me’, while becoming more timid, unskilled and complacent for the ‘we’.But we can’t achieve or buy our way out of systems failure or collective anxiety – what some academics are now calling a general Terror About The Future (a terror our young people feel acutely).We can, however, harness our energy, skills and ambition for something greater than ourselves. We can cultivate the radical hope that comes through love in action, and personal commitment to the public good. We can take courage and optimism from the suffragettes, the abolitionists, our First Nations leaders, labour organisers, environmentalists, ... posted on Apr 10 2024 (1,740 reads)

knowing that even the universe is dying, do we bear our lives? Most readily, through friendship, through connection, through co-creating the world we want to live in for the brief time we have together on this lonely, perfect planet. The seventh annual Universe in Verse — a many-hearted labor of love, celebrating the wonder of reality through science and poetry — occasioned a joyous collaboration with Australian musician and writer Nick Cave and Brazilian artist and filmmaker Daniel Bruson on an animated poem reckoning with this central question of being alive. BUT WE HAD MUSICby Maria Popova Right this minute across time zones and opi... posted on Apr 13 2024 (4,668 reads)

good to see you all. It's an honor to be here on this holy ground with you holy people. ... Thank you for all that you're doing in the world. When I was a kid, I loved to dance. I danced freely without inhibition, not worried about who was looking. And, my parents, when we would have guests over after dinner, they would summon the entertainment, which was me. And I would come out and I would dance for our guests. I don't dance so much anymore. I think as I got older, I became a little more nervous about what people would think about me. My knees got bad. And I don't know, sometimes I fear I've lost the love - that I don't have it in me anymore.In 2005, a terrible hurricane, called Hur... posted on Apr 21 2024 (2,664 reads)

experiences, here are some of our favorite articles to put your ears (and eyes) on. The Extinction of Silence and the Man Who is Saving It: Modern noises find us almost everywhere we go, and it’s having an impact on our health! But Gordon Hempton is leading the charge to protect and preserve the places we have left. (Make sure you have your headphones when you pop into this) Whales Have Viral Music, Too! Did you know humpback whales have viral songs, too? Just like us, humpback whales love a catchy new tune. From Australia all the way to Ecuador, viral whale songs are taking over the ocean. This astonishing discovery is changing how we see whales and ourselves in the natural world.... posted on Apr 25 2024 (3,708 reads)

caught by the womanI became, during them.Stars serenade mewith their chorus of hallelujah’s,offer themselves upas pin-pricksof wonder and guidancein the darknessTrees salute me, standguard and strengthen meoffer their wisdom– if I’m listening.I am.all existence.My friends are rocks andpraying mantises, I threadtheir hearts through mine, likean endless chainLet the sky teach me loyaltyto warmth AND shadow– the humility of hailand the sanctity ofchange.*And through it alllove.Ablazefrom magma – upthrough the solesof meI give the Mothermy body, for colonisingwe areember and water,– all at oncewe aresodeeplylovedjust like thiswith our limping, brokenhearts &... posted on Apr 26 2024 (3,038 reads)

and put the little light from his phone on.Two more people.Three people. Then, the whole audience of people come on, and everyone was shining their light of their phone on us. It lit up the whole hall.And so I got out my phone and took a picture of everyone with their light shining at me: It was the most beautiful scene -- a feeling that we're all in this together. That it's not anyone's fault, we're just all here, and we're all supporting each other.It was the most beautiful feeling of love from strangers I'd ever experienced.... posted on Dec 31 1969 (44 reads)

Note: Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, a legendary leader known as "the Gandhi of Sri Lanka," passed away last month on April 16, 2024. This article, originally published on October 6, 2022, offers a glimpse of the timeless values through which the movement that flowed through him has served millions.] Building a road is a “shramadana” (communal gift of energy). Sarvodaya is self-governance movement that seeks a no-poverty, no-affluence society in Sri Lanka through community based efforts and volunteerism. Credit: Sarvodaya Photo Archive Over the past six months, Sri Lanka has been in the news. You have likely read accounts or seen videos of a civil revolution sparked by gover... posted on May 7 2024 (1,165 reads)