The essence of nonviolence is love. Out of love and the willingness to act selflessly, strategies, tactics, and techniques for a nonviolent struggle

The essence of nonviolence is love. Out of love and the willingness to act selflessly, strategies, tactics, and techniques for a nonviolent struggle arise naturally. Nonviolence is not a dogma; it is a process. --Thich Nhat Hanh

In 1959, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to India to further understand Mahatma Gandhi's tactics of passive resistance. Gandhi's methods of nonviolent protests had worked a decade earlier to bring independence to a nation. In '59, King was in the midst of formulating and carrying out his own plan to help bring freedom and equality to the oppressed in the United States. Their legacies were forever linked by the lessons King applied when he returned to America. On the 50th anniversary of King's visit to India, his oldest son, Martin Luther King III went to India to commemorate the historical trip. [ more ]

Read this inspiring extract from King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1964. [ more ]

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen.

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves.
We must learn to respect them.
We must learn to listen. --Sarah Ban Breathnach

Hurrying to get out the door on a Monday morning, Kathy Smith started to scratch her name on her son's homework assignment when she stopped to read what he had written. The fourth-grade creative assignment was pretty straightforward: If I Had Three Wishes. Kathy smiled as she read the first item on her son's bucket list: a golden retriever. His second wish was to play professional basketball, hardly a surprise for a young jock like Tanner, who spent his time shuffling between the football fields, baseball diamonds and basketball courts in his Alpharetta, Ga., community. It was the third item that made Kathy stop. "To make kids with cancer laugh," Tanner wrote in his 9-year-old scrawl. What follows is a remarkable story of generosity and wishes coming true. [ more ]

In the spirit of 9-year-old Tanner, if you had three wishes, what would they be? [ more ]

We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment, but it is transient.

We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. If we share with caring, lightheartedness and love, we will create abundance and joy for each other. And then this moment will have been worthwhile. --Deepak Chopra

19-year-old Anjana Damraji is a first year science student. She lives in a girl's hostel in Pune, manages to pay her fees through a government scholarship and tutors five children during her spare hours to earn an extra bit of money. None of this would seem extraordinary had it not been for the fact that Anjana's parents work on a construction site as laborers and have been doing so for the past 24 years. Anjana credits her against-the-odds success to a unique child care service that has transformed hundreds of lives like her own. [ more ]

Try expanding your own definition of "family" today.

I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend

I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend. --Abraham Lincoln

In the most dangerous neighborhood of Guayaquil -- Ecuador's largest and most crime-ridden city -- a dozen youths are busy working in the Paz Urbana Print Shop. By the entrance, a young man designs a T-shirt logo with graffiti paint. In the back, amid the hip-hop music and paint fumes, tattooed young men with baggy pants and baseball caps compile an order of worksheets for schools. The print shop is part of an organization of small businesses, including a bakery, a beauty parlor, and a dance school, with a surprising business model -- they are entirely run by Ecuadorean street gang members, many of whom were once rivals. At the heart of this operation that has helped produce a dramatic drop in neighborhood crime, is a former nun and school teacher, Nelsa Curbelo, from Uruguay. Upon first glance, the gentle, grandmotherly Nelsa looks out of place. But later, watching her comfortable interactions with the tough-looking youths, the affection and respect she commands is evident. [ more ]

In this short but profound passage, Thich Nhat Hanh reflects on who the "enemy" really is. [ more ]

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. --Jane Howard

Inspiration of the Day:
Chris and Georgia Frankel's house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, now has 12 people calling it home. In addition to their three daughters, ages 3, 6 and 17, this large-hearted couple shares their space with five adults and two teens. The family started taking in people a long while ago. They are all there for various reasons, from difficult family situations to trouble with former roommates. Some are there daily, and others come and go based on school schedules and work commitments. Rent -- if the person can afford it -- is minimal and sometimes even shunned. Not that the Frankel's are wealthy, they are just trying to pay forward the kindness they've received. [ more ]

Send a note of thanks today to someone in your own life who treats you as part of their "extended" family.

When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. --Audrey Lorde

A recent one-of-a-kind, multiple city transplant operation offered new hope to people in need of organs. This Valentine's Day, twelve people in three cities exchanged six different organs in what's known as a domino kidney transplant. It all started with one willing donor... [ more ]

Pay-forward a gift you have received in your own life today.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. --Philo

It has become a beloved ritual at Dana-Farber's Cancer Institute, where they are building a new facility. Every day, children who come to the clinic write their names on sheets of paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint the names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new 14-story Yawkey Center for Cancer Care. "It's fabulous," said 18-month-old Kristen Hoenshell's mother, Elizabeth, as she held her daughter and marveled at the rainbow of names. "It's just a simple little act that means so much." [ more ]

Do something in your workplace that'll make everyone smile big!

We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve.

We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead. --William Arthur Ward

There's a lot of resentment these days against executive compensation and all the perks taken by corporate heads. Maybe there's something to be learned from the boss of Japan Airlines, Haruka Nishimatsu, who takes the bus to work. Nishimatsu knocked down his office walls so people can walk up and talk to him, and he works from a desk with an old-fashioned wooden in-and-out box. Got an idea? Tell him at lunch in the company cafeteria because he wants people to share."I go there," Nishimatsu said, "to raise morale and motivation." And he motivates one-on-one, regularly popping into planes, chatting with flight attendants, even helping sort the newspapers. [ more ]

Take time to appreciate the people who serve you in everyday and often unacknowledged ways.

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science. --Albert Einstein

When thirteen-year-old Andrew Davey read a blog by a leading expert in green computing, explaining how changing from a white background computer screen to a black one could save energy, he decided to put the theory to the test. He is now the proud owner of an environmentally-friendly search engine called Ecosmartsearch.com -- a search engine with the motto "We are saving energy, now it's your turn". Andrew's search engine uses a black background which saves energy because the computer monitor uses 59 watts to produce the image on the screen, whereas a white or light screen uses 74 watts to display the image. This means that every time ecosmartsearch.com is used, it saves 15 watts. As it is Google-powered, the search results are exactly the same but use less energy. [ more ]

When you do your next internet search, use Andrew's eco-friendly search engine. [ more ]

You can stand tall without standing on someone.

You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims. --Harriet Woods

"The coach never considered any other option. No matter that his high school basketball team had ridden a bus two and a half hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn't matter that the game was close, or that this was a chance to beat a big city team. Something else was on Dave Rohlman's mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go to the line as he had many times before. Only this time it was different."You realize you're going to miss them, don't you?" Rohlman said." So begins this heartwarming real-life story of a team that demonstrated how some things in life are more important than winning. [ more ]

While in traffic or in the checkout line, see what it feels like when you choose to let someone get "ahead" of you.

I really do believe I was put on the planet to help people have creative confidence.

I really do believe I was put on the planet to help people have creative confidence. I don't have 27 agendas. I'm not the sustainability guy, or the developing-world guy. My contribution is to teach as many people as I can to use both sides of their brain, so that for every problem, every decision in their lives, they consider creative as well as analytical solutions. --David Kelley, founder of IDEO

Until about a year ago, David Kelley was on a roll. He had received a National Design Award, been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, held an endowed chair at the Stanford School of Engineering, and even won the Sir Misha Black Medal for his "distinguished contribution to design education." He also had a loving wife, a daughter to whom he was devoted, and a vast circle of friends that included Apple's Steve Jobs and actor Robin Williams. Then, one morning, he noticed a lump on his neck. David Kelley, the founder of IDEO, had cancer. Read the inspiring account of David's journey into design thinking. [ more ]

If you had limited time to live, what would you spend your life doing?

It is no longer enough to be smart

It is no longer enough to be smart -- all the technological tools in the world add meaning and value only if they enhance our core values, the deepest part of our heart. Acquiring knowledge is no guarantee of practical, useful application. Wisdom implies a mature integration of appropriate knowledge, a seasoned ability to filter the inessential from the essential. --Doc Childre and Bruce Crye

In this inspiring TED Talk, Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for "practical wisdom" as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world. [ more ]

More from an interview with Barry Schwarz, right after he gave this talk. [ more ]

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought ...

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day. --Alex Nobel

In times of economic woe, Estonians are banking on ideas to lift their spirits above the gloom and doom of recession with an online "happiness bank" and forums on better governance. In the virtual "happiness bank", people will be able to earn virtual money on their accounts by doing good deeds for those in need. Organisers hope it will give people the idea that doing good is as valuable as earning money. [ more ]

The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity. --Thomas Love Peacock

"Out here where we live you are responsible for getting rid of your own garbage. ... If you've never been to your city dump I can recommend visiting one for an educational experience. We live near a medium-sized city, and its official dumpsite stretches from horizon to horizon. A complete network of ramps, lanes, traffic signs and roads criss-crosses the entire area. ... You get out of your truck and your gag reflex kicks in, triggered by the potent stench of decay and a soup of mixed chemicals oozing into the soil. It won't take you long to realize that this is not an environmentally sustainable situation. ... We went home and decided to seriously cut back on our household waste. Turns out, it's easy." This article shares ten easy ways to reduce household waste. [ more ]