Growing Real Food is Genius

Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power, has just won the MacArthur Genius Grant. This man is my new favorite hero. Talk about creative. Sometimes, creativity comes from going back to basics.

Pain in Happiness | Happiness in Pain

Sometimes I listen to this podcast from the Meditation Society of Australia. It's actually pretty helpful because each podcast comes in both lecture format and in guided meditation. So, it appeals to both my head and my heart.

Given my post yesterday about the sickness of the world, this podcast REALLY helped me today. One of the themes was about how happiness is not without pain. With Jennifer Hudson deep in my thoughts these days, I am hoping that she will eventually be able to connect to a spiritual place that will allow her to continue to celebrate her life's successes. Even be even more creative and powerful as a result of so much pain. Let's all keep her in our prayers. And let's support her new film...a spiritual story about transformation from what I remember reading the book.

Tears for Jennifer Hudson | Tears for America

I don't know Jennifer but I wept for her today. I, for one, am grateful that Obama took some time out of campaigning to send his thoughts to her and her family. Of course, the anti-Obama folks thinks that he is just trying to get more exposure by doing this. That's just ridiculous. He may not be the president, yet, but he is a national leader and this is a national tragedy that he has to address.

This is not a national tragedy because Jennifer Hudson is a celebrity. This is a national tragedy because it is just one more sign that American society is imploding. I am not the doom and gloom type. I identify as a proud optimist and have supported Obama from the primaries because of his message of hope. I believe hope is a key ingredient for creativity and that creativity makes real change. But change is only possible if we, as a society, recognize that we are sick, why we are sick, and that we need to get better.

Check out what Jared Diamond says about societies collapsing on TED.com For some reason it is not letting me imbed the video here so check out the link.