Today, January 21, 2008, is Martin Luther King Day, the only American national holiday to commenorate an African American. As you celebrate it, consider the idea that this could be the day you have been waiting for — the day you decide take up Dr. King’s challenge to follow your heart and make a difference in the world. Indeed, today is the day: (more…)
Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and do that…
because what the world needs
is people who have come alive!
Howard Thurman (1900-1981)
Howard Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian and educator, who after meeting Mahatma Gandhi became passionate about the ideas he heard from the great spiritual leader. Back in America, he went on to work for civil rights and to write about non-violence in words that informed Martin Luther King’s thinking and inspired other civil rights leaders of the mid-century.
As we make our resolutions for the New Year, plan our futures and even consider the politics of American presidential race, Thurman’s suggestion about doing what makes “you come alive” may be just what we need to hear! Many of us lead lives that, while addressing the needs of the world, can feel…well, uninspired. How can we change that in 2008? (more…)
A 79-year-old-mother of five and grandmother of twelve with a lifetime of experience in early childhood education volunteers as a grandmother for troubled children at her local elementary school.
An 84-year-old Marine who began writing award-winning poetry in her 50s now mentors young poets via email submissions
A 70-year-old retired professor serves as a supervisor for probationers on Saturdays building wheelchair ramps for needy local residents
These amazing anecdotes are not inspirational fiction–they are about friends of mine, one of whom is my mother! In fact, they and so many others are more than friends, they are my elders. (more…)