Campers at the Institute for Humane Education

Posted on August 13, 2010 by zoeweil

Last week, we hosted 23 people, children and adults from local Camp Featherfoot for a day of reverence-building activities. Our summer intern, Emily Peake, introduced the group to such activities as Wonder Walk, Find Your Tree, Smell Teas, Seton Watching, and Gnome House Building and Ecology Discussion.

Watching the children share their love of these experiences and respond to these activities that awakened their senses with such joy and pleasure was a treat for us at IHE. We spend most of our working hours training others to be humane educators and advancing the field of humane education, so days when we get to share our beautiful space with children and watch their hearts and minds open to caring for the environment is a gift and a reminder of the power of this form of education.

Humane education is good for kids, good for society, good for animals, and good for the Earth. We hope you’ll introduce people to these wonderful activities in your community too!

Zoe Weil
Author of Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times, Most Good, Least Harm, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education

Images courtesy of Daniel DeLuca.


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Filed under: Environmental Preservation, Institute for Humane Education, humane education, nature, reverence | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

What Does Forgiveness Really Mean?

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

I read these quotes in the August 2010 issue of The Sun magazine, and I find myself puzzling over them: three quotes about forgiveness, each with its own message, its own truth. For me, forgiveness is all of these quotes and none of them. Often I think I’ve forgiven only to taste the bitter seeds still lurking in the crevices of my teeth. I may have thought I’d spit them out, but like so many popcorn hulls, they’ve lurked another day. Maybe Mignon captures my failure; perhaps I’d forgiven too freely rather than dredged all the nasty rage and pain and fought my way toward a deep and abiding forgiveness that took work to achieve. But am I ever truly, completely done with resentment? For me, forgiveness has usually been a slow process, neither an act, nor a permanent attitude. One day, I may realize I believe I have forgiven. But the next that realization of forgiveness may be gone and my bitterness returned, albeit diminished.

I appreciate Desmond Tutu’s perspective that forgiveness may be better perceived as a pragmatic choice than an ethical perspective. If forgiveness has less to do with internal feelings and more to do with a practical decision to ensure a healthy future, we might more easily create such a future. But I also yearn for the spiritual component of forgiveness; the peace that comes with letting go of anger and resentment; the freedom that comes when I do not carry such a burden that harms no one more than me.

What are your thoughts on forgiveness? Do any of these quotes speak more strongly to you than the others?

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm

Image courtesy of Kulturang Ewan via Creative Commons.

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Chart a Course for A Better World, A Meaningful Life

Posted on August 9, 2010 by zoeweil

On September 6, the Institute for Humane Education (IHE) will be offering its acclaimed course: A Better World, A Meaningful Life. This month-long, distance learning course is meant for everyone who wants to deeply assess their lives and values and explore how to create changes that add meaning to their own lives while making a difference in the world.

The responses IHE has gotten from people who’ve taken this course have been phenomenal. People have told us the course is truly life-transforming. One woman who for years has been routinely participating in distance learning courses said it was the best one she’d ever taken. People uncover their deepest concerns and meld them with their talents and find ways to chart new paths that are both fulfilling and helpful to themselves and others. They make friends and build networks of like-minded changemakers. They find support for their journey and answers to their questions and people eager to hear their ideas.

Participants complete five exercises each week and create a community of learners (who often become friends and colleagues) through an Online Commons where each day, issues and questions are raised, and compassionate, wise fellow classmates share their experiences and thoughts. It is an utterly uncommon commons in today’s world.

If you want to dive into humane education issues, deeply assess what’s important to you, chart a course for fulfilling your goals as an activist or educator or citizen, this course may be just right for you. And if you have friends or family members with whom you’d like to engage with such issues, this may be the opportunity to work towards common dreams.

Find out more about A Better World, A Meaningful Life.

If you know of others who might be interested, please do share this post with them.

For a humane, peaceful, and sustainable world,

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm

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Damselflies Revisited

Posted on August 6, 2010 by zoeweil

In a previous post, “Altruism v. Rape,” I wrote about damselflies appearing to rescue other damselflies who had fallen into the water. Since writing that blog, I have observed this behavior again. Specifically, I saw a damselfly drowning in the pond and at least a half dozen other damselflies were flying to attach onto this one struggling insect and lift it out of the water. Despite repeated and persistent efforts, none were able to lift the damselfly to safety. They tried for quite some time. When they were unsuccessful, I intervened and rescued the damselfly myself. After a few minutes of drying off on my hand, the damselfly flew off.

This was a young damselfly, not yet colored, so I doubt very much whether the attempts to attach were for the purpose of mating. To my untrained eye, it appeared to be even more evidence of altruistic behavior.

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm

Image courtesy of HaPe_Gera via Creative Commons.

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Animal Rights Hall of Fame

Posted on August 4, 2010 by zoeweil

On July 17, I was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame. To me, this award is a validation of the power of humane education to help create a compassionate world. Having spent my life teaching about the interconnections between human rights, animal protection, and environmental preservation, it’s incredible to have this vision honored in such a public way. That my colleagues in the animal protection movement share my belief not only in the importance of raising a generation to be compassionate and engaged choicemakers and changemakers for a humane and peaceful world, but also in the ability of humane education to achieve that goal means more to me than I can say.

If you would like to watch my acceptance speech, which is about the power of humane education, you can view it in three parts on YouTube (Intro, and Parts 1 and 2). The links are below:

Introduction:

Part 1:

Part 2:

For a humane, peaceful and sustainable world,

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, The Power and Promise of Humane Education and Above All, Be Kind

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In Memory of Terri Warm

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 room. One of the attendees was Terri Warm. Terri’s name fit her perfectly. She was one of the kindest, warmest people I’d ever met.

Because my host had to leave earlier than I the next morning, Terri offered to come over with breakfast. I didn’t know when she made this offer that she had just undergone a chemo treatment the day before. The next morning, Terri arrived with a feast – a warm, home-cooked breakfast, fresh fruit, juice, and good cheer. Terri was in her early 50s but she looked no older than 40. She shared her story with me, about her ill health in her early thirties and the assumption of doctors that she was a hypochondriac. At thirty-five, so sick she was admitted into the hospital, she was finally diagnosed. She had stage four cancer. The doctors told Terri to invite anyone she wanted to visit, and everyone was allowed to ignore visiting hours. They didn’t think she’d ever walk out of that hospital.

Terri surprised everyone. She not only walked out of the hospital, she went into complete remission for years. Her stage four cancer came back twice, and the second time she beat it again. The third time, when I met her, was disappointing for Terri, but she was optimistic that she would survive her cancer once again and had a phenomenal attitude about her challenging treatment. I, too, felt confident that Terri would live to be an old lady.

Sadly, I just learned that Terri Warm passed away a month ago. Although I’d met Terri only this one time, I wept. What a loss. Terri was a role model for me: an awesome activist, a generous and kind person to all, and someone who savored every breath, every gift that life brings, and believed in the good in people. She was positive, resilient, and beautiful in every way. The world needs more Terri Warms. I know that I will try to embody those qualities I saw in her. I hope that others will, too.

Thank you Terri for all that you did in your too-short, but so fruitful life. Your legacy will endure.

Zoe Weil

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The Obama Family in Bar Harbor

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. Since we were spending the day climbing most of the mountains in Acadia, we thought there actually might be a chance we’d run into them. We joked all day about it, calling “Barack! Barack! Where are you?” and asking people we met on the trails if they’d seen the Obamas yet.

My husband even made up a riddle that went like this: “Zoe, if you were rock climbing a really hard 5.12a route on Otter Cliffs (at the ocean) and you were at a particularly difficult spot in the climb and Barack Obama happened to sail by just at the moment, what would the person belaying you say?”

The answer was: “Zoe! You’re caught between Barack and a hard place!”

By the end of the day when we were exhausted and hadn’t run into the Obamas, my husband pointed out it was a “Barack O’bummer.”

Ah well. Turned out the Obamas had not come early and were still scheduled to arrive over the weekend.

So then on Friday, July 16, I was heading to the Bar Harbor airport to fly to Washington, DC, where I would be receiving an award inducting me into the Animal Rights Hall of Fame and giving a humane education workshop, and as I approached, the airport traffic was at a standstill. I knew immediately what was happening. The Obamas were arriving! Now, however, I was freaking out because I was not allowed to get into the airport. The police and US Air would give me no information, and I knew I had a connecting flight in Boston to catch. Now the Obamas were cramping my style and I was none too happy about it.

How fickle!

I pulled over and waited as the Obamas were whisked out of the airport and I was finally allowed to enter. I watched Air Force 1 fly off and all proceeded as planned. Thank goodness. So I’m trading locales with the Obamas this weekend. I hope they enjoy their time in beautiful Maine where they’ll probably appreciate the 80 degree weather while I melt in the 97 degrees in DC. Since I made my flight after all, I’m free to feel benevolent about their visit once again.

Cheers,

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm

Image courtesy of http2007 via Creative Commons.

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Thank You, Khalif Williams!

Posted on July 28, 2010 by zoeweil

For 8 1/2 years, the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), the organization I co-founded in 1996, has been blessed by Khalif Williams. He joined our organization as an office manager and development director in 2002, and two years later became our executive director. Khalif has not only been a tremendous asset to our organization and a humane education leader, but also my dear friend.

Khalif is stepping down as executive director to become the interim director at the Bay School – a school you may be familiar with if you read my blog regularly, because I’ve taught week-long humane education blocks to the middle schoolers for the last several years and have written about my experiences with the wonderful kids there in my blog and in my book, Most Good, Least Harm. It’s a fabulous school, and Khalif will be a wonderful director. He has longed to work directly with kids in a school for some time, and so I’m very excited for him, even though we are so sad to see him leave his position at IHE. Fortunately, he will be joining our board of directors, so he will still remain in a leadership role here.

I wanted to write this tribute to Khalif publicly because I feel so grateful to have been his partner at IHE for all these years and to honor the great contribution he has made to the field of humane education by furthering this important work. Khalif has such extraordinary qualities, and I’ve been so lucky to work with him. He is kind and generous, direct and clear-headed, poetic and wise, and incredibly smart. He is an amazing father and husband and leader and friend. Thank you Khalif. I wish you great success at the Bay School!

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm and The Power and Promise of Humane Education

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The Great Drama Unfolding Around Us: A Celebration of Different Ways of Learning

Posted on July 26, 2010 by zoeweil

After a day of meetings and before one more evening meeting, I scooted out after dinner to kayak at low tide. The sun was setting and the clouds were pink in the western sky. The loons were making their eerie calls. I slid my kayak into the ocean and slowly paddled, staring into the shallow water to watch the drama unfolding below me. Crabs were battling, frilly worms were swaying like anemones, fish were schooling around me, tiny sea stars were clinging to little rocks and giant sea stars to big ones. Seals were bobbing their heads to look at me as I looked at them, both of us curious.

What a world we live in! What mysteries unveil themselves when we choose to observe!

In a previous blog post, I wrote about observing tadpoles and knowing that at some point I’d look them up and learn more about them from others’ knowledge, but for now I was enjoying learning by watching. I told my husband about my desire to learn who was who among the tadpoles and so for my birthday he created a book for me called “Zoe’s Wogs.” He printed photos and charts from his research on the Internet and included his own drawings to make identification even easier. Now I can identify which tadpoles will turn into which frogs. I love it, and I love that I now have two means of knowing – my own experiences and observations and the accumulated knowledge of many ethologists and biologists.

So this blog post is my praise for learning, both experiential and book learning. How lucky we all are that we can learn something new each day.

As I’ve said before, please go outside. Take a look. Notice what you learn. And maybe read a book, too. What did you learn today?

Cheers,

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm and Above All, Be Kind

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9 Peaks, 13 Miles, 4,500 Foot Elevation

Posted on July 23, 2010 by zoeweil

I recently turned 49. It felt like a big birthday, 7 cycles of 7, last of the 40s and all that. When I was a kid, I was a gymnast. Then at 13 I started experiencing severe back pain, and I was diagnosed with all sorts of problems that would plague me for 30 years. And then, shortly after my back no longer really bothered me, I began dealing with incapacitating sciatica that morphed into bearable but challenging sciatica for a couple of years. For an athletic person who practices Aikido and dances, recurring and debilitating pain that prevents movement has been especially frustrating.

So, for my 49th birthday I set my goals high. I planned a 9-peak, 13-mile, 4,500 feet of elevation hike with my husband in Acadia National park. To psych myself up, I did 49 rolls in Aikido class the night before. We enthusiastically hit the trail at 8:50 a.m. on a misty day, seeing nary a soul for several peaks. By 5 p.m., when we were embarking on the last mountain, we were exhausted, but in reasonably good spirits, and the reward was a swim in a lovely alpine pond to cool off.

Now my calves are sore, but it feels great to know that at 49 I’m actually stronger and more fit than I was as a teenager. My back is strong, and I look forward to entering my 50th year knowing that when I set my sights on a goal, I can achieve it.

So can we all. So let’s set our sights on the most important goals: a peaceful world, a restored environment, a compassionate society, and an end to cruelty, exploitation, and oppression. There’s no reason we can’t achieve these goals, too.

For a better world,

Zoe Weil
Author of Most Good, Least Harm and The Power and Promise of Humane Education

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