Inspiration Wire

World Hope Day

Sumaiya Malik — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:11:20 +0000

Ten-year-old Brianna Gardiner has a dream. Last year, she came up with the idea for a worldwide day of hope where people could come together to hope and pray. She’s now on her way to seeing her dream manifested this Monday, June 21st, as the inaugural World Hope Day is launched. It started with an [...]

Healing steps for polio survivors

Sumaiya Malik — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:23:49 +0000

In the West we often think that the “bells and whistles” of advanced medical technology represents the hallmark of effective healing. And yet sometimes simpler remedies can be equally effective. In India, a tiny team operating on a shoe-string budget is making a tremendous difference in the lives of children left paralyzed by the polio [...]

Get Outside: The Therapeutic Benefits of Nature

Michelle Ellwanger — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:06:10 +0000

What is your earliest childhood memory? Mine is being about two years old with nothing on but a diaper while taking a nap under a huge willow tree. I remember lifting my little head up and feeling a breeze. Seconds later, I was went back to sleep. That was forty years ago and I can [...]

Say ‘yes’ to Life

Sumaiya Malik — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:13:35 +0000

“You have to stop renting your life as if it belongs to someone else.” - Rev. Muata Rasuli The Universe is constantly expanding and is always asking you to expand along with it, to evolve into your greater yet to be. You are always at choice as to whether or not you’re going to go along [...]

Contribution to Peace

Sumaiya Malik — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:36:33 +0000

Over the weekend, I met up with a friend for coffee. She had suggested meeting near the Egyptian Museum in San Jose, a place I did not even know existed. After catching up for a bit at the coffee shop, we decided to wander across the street to walk the grounds of the museum. Upon passing [...]

Sweet land of liberty

Sumaiya Malik — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:32:15 +0000

Until now, I have purposefully chosen not to write about politics because, frankly, politics doesn’t make me feel good. It’s divisive, and too often the focus is on show rather than substance, with many politicians first eliciting fear and then telling you how they will solve it. But this week as the vitriol following the [...]

Fun and play

Sumaiya Malik — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:50:20 +0000

I took a break this afternoon and went to the ocean for a bit. It’s just a few short miles from where I live, and still I don’t get there as often as I’d like. I sat on a sand-covered log that had washed ashore and just communed with the ocean, watched a pair of [...]

Become like little children

Sumaiya Malik — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:42:17 +0000

The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Toan Lam, founder of Go Inspire Go, an organization that is committed to sharing inspiring stories from around the world. Toan is a kindred spirit, someone who believes deeply in showcasing the many ways that people using their personal power can transform the world around them. I first came across Toan’s [...]

Accept the gift, because you are the gift

Sumaiya Malik — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:16:16 +0000

The other night I had a dream that has stayed with me as I “noodle” its meaning in my life. In it, two dear friends of mine had a gift for me. In the dream, I knew they were planning to give me this gift, and yet I avoided them because I was embarrassed that [...]

24 Hours of Kindness

Sumaiya Malik — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:24:39 +0000

Once a year, Michael Chase, founder of The Kindness Center, spends a full 24 hours on the streets of southern Maine without sleep, performing spontaneous acts of kindness. For Michael, kindness is a philosophy to be lived, a moment-by-moment choice for how to be present in the world. And for the rest of us, he [...]