Reading Archive (Generosity)
Is the Universe Friendly?
"I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and...
Pablo Neruda's Greatest Lesson from Childhood
Playing in the lot behind the house one day when he was still a little boy, Neruda discovered a hole in a fence board. "I looked...
The Act of Giving is the True Gift
In an ancient Indian epic, Arjuna, a famed warrior questions his divine charioteer, Krishna, about the noblest giver in the land....
Money is a Lot Like Water
We’ve allowed this culture of money to shut down our heart, close off access to our soul, and drive us such that we behave in ways...
Serving Like The Mountain Stream
I was taught when I was a little boy that it was good to be unselfish and loving, and I used to think that I should grow up to serve...
Beggarly, Friendly, And Kingly Giving
The greatest gift is the act of giving itself. Traditionally, three kinds of giving are spoken of. There is beggarly giving,...
Get a Life
There are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what...
Do A Nice Thing For Your Future Self
I grew up on a small family farm, with plants and animals needing care in every direction, so vacations were rare. But one summer my...
What Do I Really Need Right Now?
An essential question we might ask ourselves is, 'What do I really need right now, in this moment, to be happy?' The world offers...
The Only Power of the Mystic
The only power for the mystic is the power of love. Every kind of power lies in this one thing which we call by the simple name: love....
What You See Is What You Get
When I was six or seven years old, growing up in Pittsburgh, I used to take a precious penny of my own and hide it for someone else to...
Stop Eating Our Corn!
[ Fascinated by machinery, a Japanese farmer bought a big foreign tractor to grow his corn and apples in northern Japan. Thirty years...
Sufficiency is Not Abundance
We can learn to invest the resources that flow through our lives in a new future for all of us. We can direct those resources, whether...
The Day I Learned The Value of a Smile
My paternal grandmother who raised me had a remarkable influence on how I saw the world and how I reckoned my place in it. She was the...
The New And Ancient Story Of Interbeing
Why does the sun shine? A random result of coalescing gases igniting nuclear fusion? Or is it in order to give its light and warmth to...
Definition of Greatness
The setting is clear. James and John are making a specific request of Jesus -- "Now when you establish your kingdom, let one of us sit...
My Neighbor's Corn
There was once a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best corn. One year a newspaper reporter...
Opening Thy Palm
I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I...
Freely vs Free
Today, after receiving acupuncture during my donation based shift, a patient asked me why I was “giving away” such amazing...
Planting Twin Trees
There was a custom in the mid-eighteen hundreds of planting twin trees to celebrate a marriage and the starting of a home. The stance of...