World War II era

  • The Gift of the Present Gaze

    ByRichard Olsen

    Simone Weil knew something our hurried age has nearly forgotten: that to truly look at another person, to set aside our own agendas and give them the full weight of our presence, is among the most sacred gifts we can offer. She lived this truth in factory lines and war zones, among philosophers and the poor. Her words reach across the decades to ask us a simple question: Who is waiting for your unhurried gaze today? Come sit a while with this fierce and tender soul.

  • — The Most Worth-While Thing —

    ByRichard Olsen

    In September 1940, as bombs fell on London and the world he had labored to build crumbled around him, an eighty-three-year-old soldier sat down in Kenya to write one last letter. He did not write about fear or the war. He wrote about happiness — and where it is actually found. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement, left us words that still ring true: the most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others. Come sit a while with his gentle wisdom.