“Humility is attentive patience.”
– Simone Weil
Photo taken from the world wide web…
Simplify
Korean potery.
In ganzer Gestalt und vor einem grossen Himmel
Lake Superior, MI.
“Ein Miteinander zweier Menschen ist eine Unmöglichkeit und, wo es doch vorhanden scheint, eine Beschränkung, eine gegenseitige Übereinkunft, welchen einen Teil oder beide Teile ihrer vollsten Freiheit und Entwicklung beraubt. Aber, das Bewusstsein vorausgesetzt, dass auch zwischen den nächsten Menschen unendliche Fernen bestehen bleiben, kann ihnen ein wundervolles Nebeneinanderwohnen erwachsen, wenn es ihnen gelingt, die Weite zwischen sich zu lieben, die ihnen die Möglichkeit gibt, einander immer in ganzer Gestalt und vor einem großen Himmel zu sehen!”
Rainer Maria Rilke in einem Brief an Emanuel von Bodman, 1901
Truly giving
“You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
– Kahlil Gibran
Have the wisdom to know the difference
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.”
Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr
Glass window at Proger in Bern.
Do. So you will understand.
I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.
– Confucius
The need for a global vision of planetary unity and purpose for humanity as a whole…
The Overview Effect
“For more than four decades, astronauts from many cultures and backgrounds have been telling us that, from the perspective of Earth orbit and the Moon, they have gained such a vision. There is even a common term for this experience: ‘The Overview Effect’, a phrase coined in the book of the same name by space philosopher and writer Frank White. It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, the astronauts tell us, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide us become less important and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this ‘pale blue dot’ becomes both obvious and imperative. Even more so, many of them tell us that from the Overview perspective, all of this seems imminently achievable, if only more people could have the experience!”
Read more here.
Or watch the beautiful film “Overview” here.
How to apply the brain science of resilience to the classroom
Neuroscience isn’t on many elementary school lesson plans. But this spring, a second grade class at Fairmont Neighborhood School in the South Bronx is plunging in.
Sarah Wechsler, an instructional coach with wide eyes and a marathoner’s energy, asks the students to think about the development and progress that they’ve made already in their lives.
Read full NPR article here.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
For a more sustainable planet, let us all back the goals of the Paris agreement. Get involved.
I commit to:
– buying nothing new, except food
– not to eat meat
– refusing plastic bags and cups
– not buying plastic bottles
for the next month.
Counting my blessings
Before going to bed, I count my blessings of the day.