They often press their little faces upon the closed windows of the cars that stop at traffic signals. Their snotty noses, dirty feet and vanquished faces tell their story without many words. These are the street children who beg at traffic signals, running between cars and other vehicles and braving the harsh Delhi winter in tattered clothes and bare feet.

India has the largest population of street children in the world. At least eighteen million children live or work on the streets of urban India, laboring as porters at bus or railway terminals; as mechanics in informal auto-repair shops; as vendors of food, tea, or handmade articles; as street tailors; or as rag pickers, picking through heaps of garbage and selling usable materials to local buyers.   Read more...

We have, once again (and so quickly!) reached the natural season of the darkest dark which can herald only one thing: the return of the light. The holy-days of all spiritual practices at this time of year are about light.

For some reason, I am especially conscious of approaching the darkest dark this year. There are just under two weeks till the cycle of light begins to grow again and the darkness is somehow more pungent, more poignant this year.

Certainly, the world economy has something to do with it. I find that I am unwilling to buy “things” just for the sake of having gifts for friends and family. So I was thrilled to discover an organization called Changing the Present where amongst their wonderful Choose A Cause list, peace takes a prominent place. My eyes, of course, went right to it.   Read more...

Going to the bank can be tedious anywhere. But when you are in a foreign country with limited language skills, it can be very challenging indeed. Despite having lived here for years, I am ashamed to say that my Japanese feebly stumbles along. I can shop and get about, talk to doctors and converse on the phone if the vocabulary is simple and the pronunciation clear. I can even manage interviews for odemagazine.com. My grammar is atrocious, but I can get my ideas across. Mostly. When it comes to precision and technical terms, I am in deep water, barely able to stay afloat. Such is a constant challenge, but a great chance to stretch beyond my current limits.

Periodically I send money overseas. When I travel, I make friends. And I often end up helping send kids to school, assisting with medical expenses, or even sponsoring small business ventures. I am delighted to do this within my humble means. But the process of getting funds from here to there can be a true test of patience. There are millions of forms, of course, with specific ways to be completed. Inevitably I make mistakes, so often have to redo everything from the beginning. Several times. The poor man helping me is a saint, explaining and re-explaining, pointing and re-pointing how I must give information. But my brain does not fit into precise little boxes. So, the entire process can take hours.   Read more...

Since the early 80's, I have known many people who have both lived and died with HIV/AIDS. Working in the Broadway theater at the onset of the epidemic gave me a unique view of the effect of the virus within an industrial microcosm.

In general, those I knew and know who have had or have HIV/AIDS respond in one of two ways. Either they deplore both the disease and themselves becoming bitter, hurt and hurting people, or they use their diagnoses as a springboard for personal transformation.   Read more...

She taught us Shelly, Byron, Milton and Keats at college; and the passion with which she recited the verses and described their meanings at length, would often leave me breathless. Her eyes would shine behind her glasses and her gaunt face would turn pink while reciting Shelley’s I Arise From Dreams Of Thee.

Our mouths agape we used to watch her sway on her feet while the words just poured through her lips. "O, lift me from the grass, I die, I faint, I fall…"   Read more...

I had a rough thing happen in my life this week. A friend I’ve had for 28 years radically, and unexpectedly, severed our relationship. It’s been a couple of days since it went down, and I’ve had some terrific insights since then which I want to share with you.

First, I felt the severance in my solar plexus. I felt like I’d been stabbed. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.

Second, my own anger at the unfairness of the action arose. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.

Third, the sadness hit me broadside. Sadness about my friend. Sadness about the loss of him. And I knew what I wanted to create in the situation was peace.   Read more...

Lynne and I met many years ago. We taught in the same language school in Indonesia. Our desks were next to each other’s in the teachers’ room, so it was easy for us to become good friends. In fact, it was a joy going to work and having long yarns with her between lessons.

Living overseas is always challenging. And the ins and outs and complexity of Southeast Asia were tough for many of us middle class westerners. Plus soon after Lynne arrived in Indonesia, there was a huge devaluation of the rupia. So after only one year, Lynne and her then spouse, Ed, returned to Japan, where they had previously worked. I, on the other hand, stayed on for quite a while longer. However, Lynne and I remained friends and always kept in touch.   Read more...

I don’t remember how I came across The Peace Arch, but I do remember wondering at the time what Peace Architecture might look like. Sentient beings are notoriously sensitive to the spaces they inhabit whether they know it or not.

The thing about the Peace Arch that touched me is that it’s all about space, empty, open space. Peace needs space in order to be itself. One of the reasons we don’t have a consistent peace on our planet is that there isn’t enough space for it.   Read more...

Bloggers Unite called for posts on refugees. I thought about Darfur and Bali and Pakistan and Iraq and Afghanistan and the Sudan and then I realized that I’m really not qualified to write heartfully about any of these places or events. All I could write about is my own feelings of helplessness.

Then I realized why.   Read more...

It’s true that eating healthy can be more expensive than buying junk, but there are things you can do to lighten the impact on your wallet. Keep in mind that food is much more expensive in restaurants, take-out/delivery, and fast food chains than it is in a grocery store, so don’t use money as an excuse for not buying healthy groceries if you’re eating out multiple times a week.   Read more...