I remember when I first came to Japan how struck I was by traditional paintings and poetry. I was intrigued when I observed an art piece and saw more space than images; or when I read haiku with its sprinkling of words to convey profound and hidden meanings. I felt the sensitivity to be very fragile, so I was fearful of crushing it with my powerful, intense Western energies.

Over the years I have, in my haltering way, developed a deeper understanding of the Japanese mind. I now am accustomed to delicate, subdued colors and minimal, harmonious designs. There are bright colors here, too, of course. Kabuki is a famous example. But in today's modern life excessive and abundantly bright colors are found most glaringly in advertising and young people's fashion. They shock precisely because they are in vivid contrast to the subtlety that by tradition is innate and revered.   Read more...

"To think we can live without beauty is part of the craziness of our time." So writes J. Ruth Gendler in her luscious book, Notes on the Need for Beauty. When I read that sentence, I immediately paraphrased it in my mind, "To think we can live without peace is part of the craziness of our time."

The author of the worldwide bestseller, The Book of Qualities, Gendler's new book is a paean to Beauty. In it, she goes deep, deep into beauty, what it is, what it isn't, how we get there, how we see, who we are in relation to Beauty.   Read more...

150 years ago on 10 November, this place we call Saint John's was officially born with five students and five monks struggling to survive on the banks of the Mississippi River near St. Cloud, MN. Shortly thereafter, sensing a fast growing population would surround the peaceful site, the monks relocated to a place called Indianbush, which was renamed St. Louis of the Lake in honor of their patron, Ludwig of Bavaria, and finally changed again to a name that would honor the Baptist, John, who heralded the Messiah by calling people of his day to repentance. More than 1,500 years earlier, St. Benedict himself tore down a pagan altar and rededicated it to this messenger who lived in the wilderness and, though popular in his time, pointed away from himself to the person of Jesus who taught a radical message of peace and love. John did not want anyone to confuse his teaching with that of the Master. The monks found this example of Benedict worthy of repeating. The Abbey church houses a modern representation of John who, with one simple gesture, points to the baptismal font and beyond toward a stark white marble altar, itself a statement about the ever present Master alive and still giving of himself in real food and drink.

Saint John's has always been a place concerned with hospitality, stewardship, education, ecumenical dialogue and ambience. The excellence that was demanded of the students was also expected from the faculty. And the monks also rose to that standard by creating meaningful liturgy, fruitful land and functional buildings that were also statements of belief, conviction and imagination. Today, the original brick facades stand next to the strikingly modern church, library and science complex, with no hint of competition or contrast. Together they speak of yesterday and today in one voice much like the monks reciting psalms with age-old synchronicity.   Read more...

This blog will offer insight into my life in rural South Africa. I am a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer working primarily in the field of education. My duties include training teachers at three primary schools, strengthening relations between the schools and community, and working with the community on other projects. I arrived in South Africa in July 2006; my service will conclude in September 2008.

Last week I met Vusi, who works for the local home-based care group, around 5 PM outside the clinic. We were going to see the mayor of the municipality, who actually lives in my village, to inquire about using the land near Sipho Bar for our vegetable garden. We initiated the garden project with funding from PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). The objective is to provide vegetables to local orphans, vulnerable children, and their guardians.   Read more...

This is my second day at home (Campinas, Brasil) since my trip to San Francisco. I had the opportunity to go because I participated in the competition that Ode organised. They rewarded the best proposal, by readers/fans, for the new Ode site with a plane ticket to SF. I got to meet the people behind a magazine which I have admired for several years and take an eleven day vacation! To be honest I'll never know if the editors thought my plan was the best, of the hundreds of entrees, or if it was just the least bad of two entrees. But I guess that's OK.

I always wanted to go to SF and I really enjoyed it. One of the most interesting things I did was attending a Gospel/Spiritual concert. There were three groups performing. I remembered 'the black voices' and 'the black heritage choir' because their music was most impressing. The thing I found most moving was the way they sang. They were full of energy, rocking their bodies, their faces took on every possible expression as they sang words of joy and of sorrow. They sang with their souls, with everything they had and weren't afraid to show it. They were open and showed their passion and love for what they were doing. They sang without fear. They weren't trying to be perfect, they were being themselves, accepting who and what they were (the good and the bad) and letting their passion rise from within and pour into the world trough their voices.   Read more...

Indeed, we're hipsters. Critical consumers. Concerned global citizens. Gadget freaks. Into wellness. Fast learners. Flexible workers. Each of us a little unit of subculture, capable of generating powerful trends with a few taps on the keyboard. And it gets even better, because we're human beings too!

Why? Today's twentysomethings are a breed apart. We managed to clear the trap of post-modernism and seem to have moved to the next level of personal development. Bypassing the Achievement so sought after by our parents, we go directly for what is really important (to us): fulfillment. Whether it's through a diet of Ritalin and videogames or dedicated idealism, fulfillment of our human needs is the focus of Generation Why.   Read more...

In May 2003, I had been living in Los Angeles for about 2 years when I was approached by a young aspiring actor and filmmaker. He told me that he had been involved with an organization called, The Hunger Project and was looking to do a documentary film that would bridge the gap between a donor's investment and the action on the ground. Basically put, he wanted to see how his money was going to actually help end world hunger. The idea of this sounded extremely exciting and I immediately agreed to become the Director of Photography for the film. Yes it seemed like a noble cause, but selfishly and secretly I was more excited about the idea of travel, adventure, and especially being the 'Director of Photography'. At the time, I was just beginning my career as a filmmaker and this project was going to be my first full-length film. What happened next I could have never planned for.

Before traveling we met with a local representative from The Hunger Project who explained two things about their strategy that I had never heard before. Empowering the people themselves to end their own hunger and that the direct subjugation of women was one of the root causes of why hunger still persisted. At the time my understanding of hunger was limited to the images I saw growing up of children with flies in their faces and bodies that were so malnourished that you could see their entire skeleton. How could these people actually be able to their own hunger without some form of food aid?   Read more...

Soon the job that I have held for 14 years at a university in Japan will come to an end. But I plan to stay here for at least another year. It will be wonderful being a student once again (formally): Art (backtracking to university days), Japanese language (an ever evasive mystery), and T'ai Chi (so good for flexibility, physical, mental and spiritual, at this stage in my life).

I am finally at a place where I feel ready to dismantle the 'I' that took a lifetime to create. I find myself clearing out much of what I have accumulated over the years, but which is no longer needed. This includes not only books and artifacts, but also ideas and attitudes.   Read more...

When my friend, publisher of Ode, Jurrian Kamp asked me to become a contributor to the Ode blog, I was thrilled. I have so much to say, yet I was concerned by the fact that I am not connected very well to the worldwide web, not for the lack of technology in Sri Lanka, but for lack of time. Spending much of my time in the front lines in the field and with people facilitating workshops and some of it for days away from home, leaves me little time to browse the web. When I am at home, I like to spend that time with my four children and wife, Samantha. As a result, I end up barely managing my e mail.

So, I am concerned that I may not have time to enter into dialogue and debate about the things I am going to write. Yet, I want to become a part of the global dialogue about the need to change our world. I am sure there are many out there with so much knowledge and insight who should become a part of this dialogue, but for lack of access or time, are not connected.   Read more...

I may as well cop to my not-so-hidden agenda. I am here on earth to help create peace. I've been working with personal peace for a long time. Peace is my mission, my passion, my fun. I have files of peace quotes. I've written a theatre piece about the women who've won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'd love to make a big enough difference for peace on this planet that I could win it! So you can imagine my delight, I'm sure, when the Global Peace Index (www.visionofhumanity.com) was rolled out all over the world.

Basically, the Index rates 121 countries on 24 variables that contribute to peace in a nation. Norway is #1. Iraq is #121. (These two make sense to me.) The Netherlands (Ode's original home) is #20. (Bravi!) The United States, where I live, is #96. (There is no other way to say this: I am appalled.)   Read more...

From a developing country to a country with one of the highest living standards in the world ... From a country with poverty always within sight to a country with people that enjoy life the most and feel the least guilty about its pleasures ... From a country where the yearly monsoon rains determine politics to a country which is mostly below sea level, surrounded or built on water ... This is how I saw my world when I arrived in Holland in the summer of 2004 after 11 months in India. Having lived 3 years in Amsterdam, I will be moving back to my home country Germany in June. And this time, I challenge myself through asking questions to work towards my personal vision 'to develop & connect people to drive positive change in society and to inspire people to take responsibility & leadership for change in their local environments ... for a more peaceful and sustainable world.'

How can me building a local We Are What We Do (www.wearewhatwedo.org) community in Berlin support the growth of the global We Are What We Do Community of Practise (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Practice)?   Read more...

A friend of mine's son is a stone carver. He fell in love with calligraphy years ago, so quit his job at IBM to become a carver of graceful messages on slate slabs. My father gave me one of these gems for my birthday one year. It translated as, 'The ordinary and sacred live together.' I love that stone and its wisdom, so even after many years I still have it carefully placed in my home.

Life has taken me to many places. Currently I reside in Japan, where I have lived for just shy of twenty years. Even though I have tried to immerse myself in this culture, I find I am not only still very much a foreigner, but am often caught by surprise by unexpected things that go on here.   Read more...

Twenty eighth April was a great day of anticipation for us in Colombo. Something was going right for Sri Lanka for a change. Sri Lanka had worked its way to the finals and was facing Australia at the Cricket Word Cup played in Barbados. Australia turned out better beating Sri Lanka in a rain sodden game. Losing the match that night would have been ok, but to have Colombo pounded from the sky by terrorist bombs took the cake.

It really hit home again the next night when our second daughter Aitana (11 years) came to our bed and said she is scared to sleep. The day had gone ok, but night time brought her terror.   Read more...