Naomi Shihab Nye

How Sorrow Carves the Depths of Kindness

Across traditions, sorrow is often the gate to compassion. Buddhism names pervasive unsatisfactoriness—dukkha—as the starting point for awakening and loving-kindness (metta). Similarly, Rumi’s verse, the wound is the place where the Light enters you (13th c.), mirrors Nye’s claim that pain excavates space for care. Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (1923) likewise proposes that joy and sorrow are inseparable, as one hollows out the bowl the other fills. Even the Beatitudes, blessed are those who mourn, imply that grief refines perception. Taken together, these sources do not glorify suffering; they reframe it as apprenticeship. Sorrow trains attention, loosening self-centeredness so kindness can flow with less obstruction. With this spiritual scaffolding in place, we can now ask what contemporary science observes about the same movement from hurt to help. [...]

Small Courage That Illuminates Long Journeys

From metaphor to method, psychology shows that minor actions can unlock momentum. The “foot-in-the-door” effect (Freedman & Fraser, 1966) found that agreeing to a small request made people more likely to accept a larger one later—tiny steps shift identity. Similarly, BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits (2019) and James Clear’s Atomic Habits (2018) argue that small, easy wins create reliable streaks, which in turn build confidence. In this way, a single act of bravery—one email sent, one difficult conversation begun—expands the radius of what we believe we can do. [...]

Sowing Hope, Tending It with Stubborn Care

From metaphor to method, gardening teaches that tending is rhythmic and specific: preparing soil, watering on schedule, thinning crowded sprouts, shielding against late frost. Translated to a life of hope, this becomes building routines that protect fragile beginnings—setting small goals, limiting bleak news diets, and inviting accountability from a trusted friend. Stubborn care is not clenched; it is consistent. By returning, even on dull days, we tell the seed it is expected to grow. [...]