Category: Inspiration
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Empathy & the Politics of Tenderness
It is almost impossible to grow up. Most people just get older — Maya Angelou An essay by Tim Wolcott Empathy can be crushed Rancor for the ‘other’ has long been an effective tool of the Right to mobilize supporters. In their plans, empathy is to be avoided at all costs. Many adults, harboring unresolved anger and mistrust,…
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Remembering Hiroshima
The Nuclear Threat Initiative sent me the following e-mail this morning: “Seventy-one years ago tomorrow, the city of Hiroshima was leveled by an awesome and gruesome new weapon: the atomic bomb. Three days later, Nagasaki faced the same fate. Today, the world has entered a new and potentially more dangerous era of nuclear risks. Consider…
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Why questions are more important than answers
If someone told you, we learn more from asking questions than finding answers, would you believe them? According to the ideas of Socrates as passed down to us by Plato, it is only through continual questioning and refinement of our ideas and thoughts in discussion with others that we discover the true nature of what…
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The Rhythm of Compassion: A Book Review
For most of my life I have felt uncomfortable ‘in my own skin’. It seemed logical since I was raised in a family that encouraged non-conformist thinking. Eventually, I realized that the root of the discomfort was an egotistical mindset that simultaneously created my personal alienation as I strove to ‘save the…
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Inspiration from the Art of JahSun
Yelling and profanity burst our joyous family union like a needle stabbing a balloon. What was once a warm, inter-generational breakfast became a cauldron of fury and recrimination. Months passed until forgiveness and apology began the process of healing. A careless comment from my spouse hurt, but letting it go became the balm to…
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Maria Montessori on Peace
A Teach Peace Now Hero Maria Montessori (1870-1952) is most often remembered for her contributions to the education of young children. However, she is also considered by many to be a founder of peace education. She believed that the root of peace lay in the education we give our children. Only when children are intentionally taught…
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Martin Luther King on Injustice
Martin Luther KIng tells us… Injustice is…a threat to justice Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Injustice is…poverty & homelessness & starvation The rich must not ignore the poor because…
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5 Resolutions for a More Peaceful World by Teach Peace Now
Over two thousand years ago, Chinese philosopher Lao-Tse showed us the way to peace in the world. Based on his thoughts, here are our Teach Peace Now’s 2016 resolutions for a more peaceful world. May they speak to you as they do to us. One There must be peace in the heart. If there is to…
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Share a Little Love
Imagine what the world would be like if we were all a little kinder. Follow up watching this video by reading one of these books with your children. Then head out and do an act of kindness. Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud If I Were…