The language we use and the stories we tell influence our sense of responsibility and possibility and are critical to our understanding of what sustainability means.  In this article, David Abram calls us to an appreciation of all beings: "Whenever we become intensely engaged by other styles and shapes of life, when we drop away our concern for ourselves and begin to celebrate and praise other beings and elements that exceed our exclusively human concerns, then—paradoxically—we most realize and epitomize our humanity."

https://www.humansandnature.org/to-be-human-david-abram#.WezMV9GIhVU.facebook

A beautiful little video on the power of looking at the moon through a telescope.

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/556811/telescope-moon/?utm_source=fbb

From Garrison Institute Newsletter, 2/17/15

Researchers at UC Berkeley recently published a paper in the journal Emotion supporting a definitive link between awe, wonder, and joy with reduced inflammation in the body. While the researchers looked at seven positive emotions, ‘awe’ had the strongest correlation with positive health. Study participants who ‘feel wonder almost every day’ have the lowest levels of a biomarker (cytokine IL-6) that aids inflammation. The researchers conclude that perhaps, “awe elicits feelings of interconnectedness with others and may affect levels of cytokines through fostering social connection and supportive relationships.” Whether it's art, religion, or nature, there are many ways to experience awe and wonder, and it seems that the experience of awe may also foster social cohesion, through individual biological responses.

Author and pioneer in biomimicry Janine Benyus speaks on the For the Wild podcast about learning from living systems that have served the test of time.  What is nature doing here?  What is nature not doing?  What does that tell me about what I might do?  Nature can serve as mentor, measurement and model.  There is so much we can learn from her about regeneration.  I found this a very hopeful listen.

http://forthewild.world/listen/janine-benyus-on-redesigning-society-based-on-nature

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Where can we find the magic we need to free ourself from this self-destructive spell of consumerism, this soul-destroying pursuit of distractions? Magic is always present, just as the Divine is always present.... Read the article here.

We have all changed someone’s life -- usually without even realizing it. In this funny talk, Drew Dudley calls on all of us to celebrate leadership as the everyday act of improving each other’s lives. Read the article here.