Born a slave around 55 AD, Epictetus acquired a passion for philosophy early in life, and with the permission of his wealthy owner studied Stoic philosophy; later becoming a Greek sage and revered Stoic philosopher. Epictetus, who lived a life of deep simplicity and few material possessions, taught that philosophy is a practical way of […]
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist and poet who – among many other achievement — essentially founded transcendentalism (a belief system that primarily suggests a) that the divine — or “God” — is suffused within the entirety of Nature, b) that reality can therefore be best understood by studying Nature, and c) that an […]
In 2008, after her brother became ill due to a diet heavy in canned and sugary foods, Robin Emmons began donating produce from her garden to the facility where he was being treated — and saw his health improve dramatically as a result. Looking anew thereafter at her own community, she had the impression that […]
Ron Finley is a Los Angeles-based activist and proponent of urban gardening. He is perhaps best known for giving a widely viewed 2013 TED talk on guerilla gardening (link to video in first comment box below) … Finley had success in his first career, as a fashion designer whose clothes were in Nordstrom, Neiman […]
Born in 1940, Matthew Fox is an American Episcopal priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Roman Catholic Church, Fox was an early and influential proponent of a movement that came to be known as “Creation Spirituality”, a theology that considers itself a “green” theology, emphasizing a holy relationship between […]
Born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone in 1181 (but given the nickname “Francesco”), Francis — despite never being ordained to the Catholic priesthood — remains one of the most honored religious figures in history. he is currently known as the patron saint of both animals and the environment. Entering the world as the son of […]
Anne Frank was a German-born diarist who became one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust after the posthumous publication of her Diary of a Young Girl (originally entitled The Secret Annex). In this diary, Anne documents her life from 1942 to 1944, the years she and her family spent hiding from the […]
Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, as well as a WWII Holocaust survivor. Frankl was also the founder of logotherapy, what many call the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy,” and what has proven to be the pinnacle of western psychological thought and practice. His best-selling book Man’s Search for Meaning (originally published in […]
Sherri Franklin was pouring her lifelong passion for animals into volunteer work at the San Francisco Humane Society. It was highly rewarding work, and yet sadly, she noticed a problem that is common at many animal shelters — older dogs were being passed over in favor of the shelter’s puppies. And so Sherri Franklin started […]
Elizabeth Fry was an English prison reformer, social reformer, homeless advocate, and philanthropist. She was a major driving force behind new legislation to make the treatment of prisoners more humane, and has sometimes been referred to as the “angel of prisons” … Prompted by a family friend, Fry visited Newgate Prison in 1813, and […]
Richard Buckminster Fuller was an American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, and inventor. Fuller published more than 30 books, coining or popularizing terms such as “Spaceship Earth” and “synergetic.” He also developed numerous inventions, mainly architectural designs, and popularized the widely known geodesic dome. In 1927, at age 32, in a remarkable response to […]
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