If I spend too much time paying attention to what news media report is happening in the world, it truly darkens my day! I mean, really? Practically nothing good is ever headline news! Logic and experience tell me the bad stuff is only a small part of all that happens on any given day, at least in my neighborhood, but much progress and virtue are not heavily reported.

I don't know about you all, but my personal beliefs require at least some daily support. Religion has supplied exactly that reinforcement for millennia, even though over time each chapter in God's ongoing self help Book gets modified by human desires and hubris. Even that perspective can be depressing if I let it! So I search for signs of positive growth all the time, both in the world and in myself. And prefer to read books that provide useful tools for a hopeful future.

Still, I almost passed up William Barnes' book because the title sounded sort of light weight. That would have been a big mistake! It will be one that I reread periodically, partly because it is dense with good ideas, but also because his argument that humans are perfectible is both inspiring and convincing. Some days I really need to be convinced! So do other people, and I plan to use the author's points to encourage others, as well.

The latest article from the Baha'i site at BellaOnline.com is a review of:

Gettin' through Hard Times Together - Review
A review of "Gettin' through Hard Times Together: Creating Prosperity through Sharing, Service and Sacrifice," by William Barnes. A rather thorough argument in favor of balancing attention on both material and spiritual education to make a better world.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art301198.asp

Do visit bahai.bellaonline.com for more articles on ways to change the world through improved parenting, education, and tools for character building, plus links to the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. You don't have to rely on only my understanding, when you can go straight to the source!

Join free online discussions, view time sensitive announcements and check out interesting external links in the site forum located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=321

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback.

Cheryll Schuette, Baha'i Editor
http://bahai.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com