by Susan | Aug 21, 2016 | essay, inspiration, quotations
It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau Not causing harm requires staying awake. Part of being awake is slowing down enough to notice what we say and do. The more we witness our emotional chain...
by Susan | Aug 15, 2016 | essay, inspiration
At Half Price Books the other day I picked up a copy of five short pieces by Denis Diderot, the 18th Century French philosopher of the Enlightenment: This is Not a Story and other stories, a new translation by P.N. Furbank. (Oxford University Press, 1991) The last...
by Susan | Aug 13, 2016 | essay, inspiration
In Karen Armstrong’s book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life she quotes Confucius, who said that the family is the first school of compassion. I’ve been thinking lately about how that applied to my family. Three things that I learned when I was three —...
by Susan | Aug 3, 2016 | essay, inspiration
This illustrated talk by Jeremy Rifkin explains some of the neuroscience of empathy:
by Susan | Jul 31, 2016 | essay, inspiration
One question that always, always, always arises when we are out and about talking about compassion concerns the anger in public discourse. How can we re-learn how to discuss important and controversial issues without resorting to shouting and name calling? Christopher...
by Susan | Jul 30, 2016 | essay, inspiration
This clever, Academy Award-winning 1952 Canadian short had me laughing out loud. Then thinking. When the flower first appeared I thought the flower was a dandelion and the neighbors might start arguing over whether it should be pulled or remain — a battle we sometimes...
