How to Save the World
Jen points us to a remarkable TED talk about Stories of Transformation, by Chris Abani, that shows us why stories are so powerful and illuminating. In one story he explains how his mother broke down when a Portuguese woman at an airport where Chris’ family was fleeing the horrors and atrocities of the Biafran war, emptied her suitcase to give her and her family everything she had packed, to help them begin to rebuild their lives. Her explanation for this breakdown after stoically coping with all the outrages and terrors of war:

You can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror, but a simple act of kindness from a complete stranger will unstitch you.