Articles about poetry and how it can inspire and enrich our lives.
“My religion is kindness,” the Dalai Lama is said to have said. These words remind me that the movement of the heart as we practice kindness mirrors the movement of the heart when we let go of conditioned views about ourselves and others. Every person has been conditioned to think and behave in a certain … Read more
“Observe both the things which come first and the things that follow; and then begin the act,” Epictetus wrote in his meditation on making wise decisions. This seems simple enough, yet many of us fail to heed the advice. Again and again, we repeat the same mistakes, oblivious to our tendency to stand in our … Read more
“Look straight ahead / What’s there?” said Zen monk Bassui Tokusho moments before passing away. “If you see it as it is / you will never err.” This tender Japanese death poem would leave many of us utterly befuddled and awe-struck by its logic-shattering beauty and asking one simple question, “And then what?” Well, after … Read more
“The simplest definition of poetry is that it is what poets write,” Mortimer Adler wrote in his book about the most important life skill that our schools absolutely fail to teach us. “That seems obvious enough, and yet there are those who would dispute the definition.” Among those who oppose such simplicity, Adler notes, are … Read more