Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day! If you aren’t familiar with this annual event, it is one of the celebrations of poetry organized by the Academy of American Poets as part of National Poetry Month. The concept is simple enough for anyone to participate, even if you haven’t been planning for this for days as … More Happy Poem In Your Pocket Day!
As if we didn’t have enough great things going on in April, it is also the birth month for William Shakespeare. So how should we honor the man generally considered the greatest author of the English language? Well, how about a marathon reading of all 154 of all of Shakespeare’s (known) sonnets? That’s how we … More Sonnets for Shakespeare
Not only is April host to Earth Day, but it also National Poetry Month here in the US. Those two events intersected yesterday in a program that Academy of American Poets Chancellor Jane Hirshfield developed called “Poets for Science.” Hirshfield is one of the most accomplished contemporary American poets, and environmental awareness has long been … More Poets for Science
Happy Earth Day 2017! This Saturday, April 22, marks the 47th year of this international event to demonstrate support for environmental protection. According to the organizers, this year nearly one billion people will show their love for the planet at Earth Day events in nearly 200 different countries. The thing is, for most of us, … More Celebrating the Good on Earth Day
If you are truly interested in following your bliss, I don’t think you could have better role models (outside, say, the Dalai Lama and Reverend Tutu) than Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the fun and idealistic founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company. Ben and Jerry were childhood friends from Long Island, New York. In the … More Finding Your Bliss in Ice Cream
I had a glorious weekend the past couple of days. How about you? For me, it wasn’t just that the weather was ideal and my community is alive with all the signs of spring–birds singing, colorful blossoms in the sky and on the ground, that special spring green color of brand-new leaves, or the people […]
On Wednesday, I took my high school literature class on a field trip to a local art museum for a special exhibit. It ended up being one of the best educational tours I’ve ever arranged–and I’ve arranged quite a few. It was thought provoking, engaging, confusing, humorous, and uplifting. Most of all, it reminded me, … More Encouraging Dialogue Through Art
Since Wednesdays are traditionally known as “Hump Day,” and often involve an alcoholic libation to celebrate the middle of the work week, I thought it might be an appropriate time to share a local good news story. Now, when I think of the places with a trendy beer scene, I mostly think of hip cities out West, … More Finding Your Bliss in Beer
Happy Spring! Yesterday was the Vernal Equinox, the first time in the year that we had equal amounts of daytime and nighttime (at least at the equator). Now we will have a few more minutes of light every day until we reach our peak at the Summer Solstice in June (which represents the end of spring … More Welcoming Spring
In the ancient Greek myth of Pandora (the world’s first woman, not the music-playing service), this “all-gifted” woman accidentally released all the world’s evils–famine, sickness, war, pain, death–when she opened her jar (later translated into a box). The king of the Greek gods, Zeus, left her only one force with which to deal with all of … More Meditation Monday: Three Weeks of Hope
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