Doing

Gift Culture

Charles Eisenstein, USA

(Submitted by The Art of Living Team)

Wherever I go and ask people what is missing from their lives, the most common answer (if they are not impoverished or seriously ill) is "community." What happened to community, and why don't we have it any more? There are many reasons - the layout of suburbia, the disappearance of public space, the automobile and the television, the high mobility of people and jobs - and, if you trace the "why's" a few levels down, they all implicate the money system.

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To conquer fear

Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzerland

(Submitted by Anne Marie Benzimra, France)

So then, learn to conquer your fear. This is the only art we have to master nowadays: to look at things without fear, and to fearlessly do right.

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Leafy Trees

Pan Guang, China

(Submitted by the author)

Our life is the prolongation of that of our ancestors and we progress in it following their footsteps. In turn, the life of our successors is a prolongation of our own: when the shoot we plant becomes a leafy tree, they will be able to sit in the freshness of its shade.

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Making a difference

Jane Goodall, England

(Submitted by The Art of Living Team)

Every individual makes a difference every single day.

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Why Forgive?

Desmond Tutu, South Africa

(Originally published by kind permission of Desmond Tutu in 'The Art of Living')

True enduring peace - between countries, within a country, within a community, within a family - requires real reconciliation between former enemies and even between loved ones who have struggled with one another.

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The job of a citizen

Günter Grass, Germany

(Submitted by Ulrike Kellner, Germany)

The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.

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The best a man can ever do

Paul Auster, USA

(Submitted by Cindy Redman, USA)

That's all I've ever dreamed of. To make the world a better place. To bring some beauty to the drab humdrum corners of the soul. You can do it with a toaster, you can do it with a poem, you can do it by reaching out your hand to a stranger. It doesn't matter what form it takes. To leave the world a little better than you found it. That's the best a man can ever do.

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The apple tree

Martin Luther, Germany

(Submitted by Jens Van de Velde, Belgium)

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

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The Art of Living in a Global Village

Travis Rejman, USA

(Submitted by the author)

Interconnectedness is a reality that is gradually dawning. Most are now familiar with the idea of a "Global Village", and many have proclaimed that we now live in such a society. But, in truth, we are not yet a village, if a village means a community where everyone is welcome and valued.

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When the ship sinks

José Argüelles, USA

(Submitted by Jill Lopez, USA)

When the ship sinks, there’s no point in trying to mend the engine.

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