Love, forgiveness, hope, inner healing, and discernment are the goals of Taizé--a form of Christian meditation explained in this guide. Providing a Bible passage for each two-page spread and including reflections, songs or chants, guided questions for contemplation, and prayers, this collection of meditations can be used to overcome fears and anxieties, nurturing trust in the human heart.
As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of Buzz and Feathers presents a natural and human history of seeds, the marvels of the plant kingdom. "The genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves." -- Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.
Explains how trust is a key catalyst for personal and organizational success in the twenty-first century, in a guide for businesspeople that demonstrates how to inspire trust while overcoming bureaucratic obstacles.
With lyrical text, enchanting illustrations, and a beautiful fold-out scene to complete the story, this award-winning picture book takes you on a journey through the seasons and years as you follow a seed’s transformation from a seedling to a sapling, then a young tree, until it becomes a large tree with its branches and roots filling the page. As the tree grows, it is joined by well-loved woodland creatures—squirrels and rabbits, butterflies and owls—who make it their home. A rhyming poem builds page on page, echoing the rings of a growing tree. The story culminates with a foldout page showing a mature tree shedding seeds to continue the beautiful cycle of life. At the back, find the full poem and facts about the specific tree, a sycamore. Beautiful and evocative, It Starts With a Seed is a factual story that will touch children with its simple, enchanting message of life and growth. A 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K-12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council)
As today's headlines remind us, trust is the hot-button issue in business today, especially for investors, managers, workers, and consumers. More than ever before, the success of an organization depends on leadership that fosters strong connections across teams and among bosses, colleagues, and subordinates. Companies are in urgent need of trusted leaders, but how can managers meet that need? "Be trustworthy" is the short, logical answer, of course. But being trustworthy and building trust in an organization are not one and the same thing. The former is an inherent part of a person; the latter requires developed talent and considerable skill. Based on highly specific research and experience that covers a wide spectrum of managers and organizations, The Trusted Leader identifies the three critical types of trust that leaders need to master: strategic trust, organizational trust, and personal trust. It introduces a practical and effective formula for building organizational confidence, and provides a unique analysis of the obstacles to trust and the sources of resistance to the building of trust inside organizations. Through a series of interactive exercises, executives will learn how to determine where trust is missing and how it can be supplemented in people, departments, and even whole companies. Perhaps most timely are the book's series of diagnostic tools and skills that help executives rebuild trust that has been broken or betrayed. As business insiders and authors Robert Galford and Anne Seibold Drapeau show, trust inside a company provides focus, fuels passion, fosters innovation, and helps employers to hire and retain the best employees. Trust inside, the authors argue, also builds trust outside by gaining credibility with today's skeptical consumer. Trust is all too frequently overlooked in other leadership books, and is even more important today as companies face uncertain customer demands and the pressures to compete successfully in a whiplash market. Crises, restructurings, mergers, downturns, and executive departures are often trust-destroyers. The Trusted Leader examines those defining moments, and helps leaders turn such situations into trust-building experiences, creating a culture and legacy of trust throughout the organization at large. Rich in true stories, examples, and practical advice, The Trusted Leader guides leaders on how to climb the ladder of trust and how to secure their legacy as trusted leaders. For managers of all levels, The Trusted Leader is the only comprehensive guide for building trust inside an organization -- the key to every company's long-term survival and success.
Teach kids to trust their authentic Self, knowing they already have what it takes to grow and be happy! It sounds pretty simple: plant some seeds, add water, sunshine, and in time tiny sprouts pop up through the ground. It only seems natural that if you follow the same steps, you ll get the same results -- but it doesn't always happen that way. Not all seeds become hearty and healthy fruits and vegetables. Why? There are many ways to help a seed grow up strong and healthy. The same can be said of a child and the benefits of a happy and healthy home, with a nurturing family that tends the garden and feeds the soul. Author Michaun Madsen saw the similarities and created a story illustrating this growth process so young minds can actually see and better understand the benefits of a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Here's a book to help ease the frustrations of growing up. YOU ARE LIKE A SEED teaches kids to trust their authentic self, knowing that deep inside, they already have everything it takes to experience a life of happiness.
Because of trust in leadership, in each other, and in the mission, a tiny company like John Deere grew into a worldwide leader. On the opposite spectrum, a lack of trust is what eventually sank the seemingly unsinkable corporation of Enron. A culture of trust for all companies large and small is invaluable. Trust turns deflection into transparency, suspicion into empowerment, and conflict into creativity. And what many have learned unfortunately is that no enterprise is too large or too successful to withstand a lack of trust within its walls.In The 10 Laws of Trust, JetBlue chairman and Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Joel Peterson explores how a culture of trust gives companies an edge. Consider this: What does it feel like to work for a firm where leaders and colleagues trust one another? Peterson has found that, when freed from micromanagement and rivalry, every employee contributes his or her best. Risk taking and innovation become the norm. In clear, engaging prose, highlighted by compelling examples, Peterson details how to establish and maintain a culture of trust, including:• Start with integrity• Invest in respect• Empower everyone• Require accountability• Keep everyone informed• And much more!As Peterson notes, “When a company has a reputation for fair dealing, its costs drop: Trust cuts the time spent second-guessing and lawyering.” With this indispensable resource for businesses large and small, you will learn how to plant the seeds of trust throughout your organization--and reap the rewards of reputation, profits, and success!
The remarkable story of the Global Seed Vault--and the valiant effort to save the past and the future of agriculture: Now updated with a new chapter by the author and photos from recent improvements in the facilities. Closer to the North Pole than to the Arctic Circle, on an island in a remote Norwegian archipelago, lies a vast global seed bank buried within a frozen mountain. At the end of a 130-meter long tunnel chiseled out of solid stone is a room filled with humanity's precious treasure, the largest and most diverse seed collection ever assembled: more than a half billion seeds containing the world's most prized crops, a safeguard against catastrophic starvation. The Global Seed Vault, a visionary model of international collaboration, is the brainchild of Cary Fowler, renowned scientist, conservationist, and biodiversity advocate. In SEEDS ON ICE, Fowler tells for the first time the comprehensive inside story of how the "doomsday seed vault" came to be, while the breathtaking photographs offer a stunning guided tour not only of the private vault, but of the windswept beauty and majesty of Svalbard and the enchanting community of people in Longyearbyen. With growing evidence that unchecked climate change will seriously undermine food production and threaten the diversity of crops around the world, SEEDS ON ICE offers a personal and passionate reminder that we shouldn't take our reliance on the world of plants for granted--and that, in a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on this frozen and indispensable biodiversity.
“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.
From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. Seeds of Hope takes us from Goodall's home in England to her home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as places where hope for plants can be found, such as The Millennium Seed Bank. She shows us the secret world of plants with all their mysteries and potential for healing our bodies as well as Planet Earth. Looking at the world as an adventurer, scientist, and devotee of sustainable foods and gardening--and setting forth simple goals we can all take to protect the plants around us--Goodall delivers an enlightening story of the wonders we can find in our own backyards.
