Posted on September 6, 2010 by zoeweil
I was reading an article in the July/August issue of Ode Magazine titled, “If you’ve got it, spend it: How consumer spending can help create a fairer, richer, greener and more stable global economy.” The article is an edited excerpt from Philippe Legrain’s book Aftershock: Reshaping the World Economy After the Crisis. Unfortunately, it’s edited [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), consumerism, economy, globalization, systemic change, third side thinking | Tagged: Sustainability, consumerism, critical thinking, humane living, either/or, MOGO choices, globalization, voluntary simplicity, local economy, global economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 3, 2010 by zoeweil
This morning I was listening to a news report about Taliban leaders who are threatening foreign aid workers who are offering humanitarian help during this terrible crisis in Pakistan due to flooding. If you were trying to assist people in need in a foreign country and a powerful faction in that country rejected your help [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), peace, politics, third side thinking | Tagged: politics, MOGO choices, Taliban, foreign aid, humanitarian aid, Pakistan, disaster relief | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 25, 2010 by zoeweil
I’ve been reading the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath. The book identifies key factors that spur positive change. In one section, the authors discuss creating a new identity and a growth mindset. They tell the story of Molly Howard, a special education teacher who became [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), changemakers, education, perspective, systemic change | Tagged: education, perceptions, changemakers, books, social psychology, better world, motivation, positive change, grading, identity | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 18, 2010 by zoeweil
My husband and I planned to spend an afternoon and evening doing what has become a favorite outing: climbing a short, rigorous rung-and-ladder hike in Acadia to a beautiful pond where we love to swim, grabbing a burrito for dinner, and then heading to our favorite evening entertainment, Improv Acadia, an improvisational comedy group in [...]
Filed under: Environmental Preservation, MOGO (Most Good), nature, perspective, reverence | Tagged: wildlife, reverence, natural world, environmental protection, magnifying glass, observation, dogs, hiking, wilderness, canoeing, bogs | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 16, 2010 by zoeweil
I recently finished A Dog’s Purpose, a novel by W. Bruce Cameron. I loved this book. Told in the first person by a dog, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that rang so true about the inner lives and thoughts of our canine companions. Reading this novel has me looking at and relating to [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), animal intelligence and emotion, books, critical thinking | Tagged: perceptions, books, animal emotions, MOGO choices, gratitude, dogs, perspective, novels | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 11, 2010 by zoeweil
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. “Forgiveness and reconciliation are not just ethereal, spiritual, otherworldly activities…. They are realpolitik, because in a very real sense, without forgiveness, there is no future.” ~ Desmond Tutu “What we forgive too freely doesn’t stay forgiven.” ~ Mignon McLaughlin [...]
Filed under: Inner Peace, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: MOGO choices, mindfulness, freedom, forgiveness, resentment | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 2, 2010 by zoeweil
Last year I was doing a book tour for Most Good, Least Harm in the mid-Atlantic states, and I was invited to do a presentation in New Jersey at the home of a wonderful activist who invited the community into her living room to hear me speak and put me up in her lovely guest [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), changemakers, goodness, gratitude | Tagged: humane education, Generosity, citizen activism, goodness, changemakers, cancer, activists, tributes, role models | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 30, 2010 by zoeweil
In a previous blog post I wrote about spending my birthday hiking 13 miles over 9 peaks in Acadia National Park. What I didn’t mention was that we had heard that the Obamas, scheduled to be in Acadia the weekend of July 16th, had actually come several days earlier and were already in the park. [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), goodness, perspective | Tagged: Barack Obama, goodness, Maine, attitude, perspective, fickleness | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 5, 2010 by zoeweil
In a previous blog post, “Letting a Blind Man Fall,” I shared my thoughts about Erik Reece’s account of ignoring a blind man who had fallen on a subway platform and whose cane had broken. Roberto Giannicola, a friend, colleague, and reader of my blog wrote to share this story with me, a lovely corrective [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), compassion, goodness | Tagged: Kindness, responsibility, compassion, MOGO choices, empathy, helpfulness, bystander effect, caring, people with disabilities | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 23, 2010 by zoeweil
The other morning I took a walk along the rocky beach by our house. I sat on a rock for awhile watching what I thought was a seal sunning herself on a rock with a crow standing by her. But after a very long time with only the crow moving, and not the seal, I [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), goodness, integrity | Tagged: perceptions, goodness, values, integrity, MOGO choices, intentions, introspection, inquiry, mistakes, certainty, perseverance | Leave a Comment »