Every thing that lives, lives not alone, nor for itself.William Blake

Inner Life Directions

Expanding Reality

Danielle Levy

  • Helping Refugees In Poland

    The situation between Belarus and Poland is a complicated one, and the conditions of migrants from Belarus trying to enter the EU via Poland is even more so. Yet this complex political chess game forms the background for what I want to share,  an example of human courage and solidarity. In this case one where poles are risking their lives to help the migrants. The article in The Guardian  used fake names to protect them. Jakub, 38 has helped and hidden about 200 migrants. Others have too. They do not compare it to the Holocaust, but are aware of the parallels and inspired by the fact that many poles hid Jewish children. Jakub’s uncle was among those, so to him doing what he does is personal. The Polish authorities could arrest them because helping migrants is illegal. Regardless, people like Jakub roam the woods looking for signs of life such as discarded nappies or huts made from tree branches, bringing water, food, the offer of shelter. It’s dangerous for the migrants too. If caught they are sent back to the sub- zero temperature forest.  They are all courageous, and show us that courage is not only for heroes.

    We have  come to have this negative picture of human nature, and of course we are all flawed. Still, because this picture is reinforced by so many films, computer games, cartoons and the like, we forget the other side, our better angels or whatever terms anyone wants to use. But it is that other side that helps us go forward, so when I encounter it I want to highlight it.  That’s why what Jakub and those like him are doing in Poland is worth knowing about. They remind us that humans are more than their down side.

  • Daria Navalnaya’s Strength

    What is it like to be the daughter of an imprisoned international figure, in this case someone who opposed Vladimir Putin?  How does one cope? What kind of strength must one develop? I read about Daria Navalnaya, the 21-year-old daughter of Alexei Navalny in an interview she gave the German magazine Der Spiegel and these questions kept coming up for me . As we know Navalny is serving a prison sentence for having criticized and stood up to Putin, not an ordinary adversary. Since 2019 Daria has been studying psychology at Stanford  University in California. Recently she traveled to Strasbourg in France to appear before the European parliament to give a speech on behalf of her father and receive  its prestigious human rights award, The Sakharov Prize. In the interview she talks about corresponding with her father, asking for his advice about the speech she was giving, visiting him in prison and seeing him look pale and weaker. She also talks about the fears she’s always had for him and growing up ending up seeing everyone as a spy.  For some this would be paralyzing, for her it isn’t. She sounds focused and determined. We all have our issues and problems, even serious ones, but few of us are confronted with this kind of challenge. Many  I’m sure have had experiences that helps them relate to Navalnaya. I for one had a sister who lived 17 years as a total paraplegic . every time I stand up under a hot shower I remember she couldn’t. Daria had to learn to delve into herself for  strengths most of us do not require. I suspect she had to do that just to survive. Doesn’t matter how she did it or what strength she developed, she did it and in doing it she reminds us of  how strong human beings can be in the face of big challenges.

  • Happy Holidays

    I‘m beginning these weekly posts again! this time it’s about GGID–Giving Good Its Due. Each week I’ll share something that to me contributes to understanding good or about what’s good in the society. I also have a podcast with that name, available on Spotify, iTunes etc… If you think these posts worthwhile, I hope you will share them. And should you want to unsubscribe, just send an email to with the word. I’ll begin where I left off by wishing you Happy Holidays. Some of you I know personally may have received this message. If so, it is still heartfelt this time around. I’m also including the transcript of the last podcast.

    It’s been a hard year. Problems are in front of us,  difficult issues are all around us , and it’s easy to get lost in them and feel the society and the world are  just being swallowed. Yet in all my decades of living and surviving traumas and problems, I have learned that good cannot die. It is overshadowed, but only for a while, even when that while seems too long. I can’t promise that the clouds will lift in this next year, I can however promise that somehow, at some time in the future, good will prevail. So let’s see how many steps towards this progress we can take in 2022! Meanwhile let’s make sure we notice all that’s good out there and enjoy every bit of it!

    Phytomining and the Environment

    Phytomining means extracting minerals from plants. Some plants it turns out can suck up metals from the earth, 700 of them as it turns out. It is usually done through their roots which absorb the metal from the soil. Nickel is the one metal that has proven to be effectively harvested in this way, but others it is hoped can also be, such as zinc and rare earth minerals. Mining nickel in a traditional way is hard on the environment, as all mining is. It is also expensive and requires equipment. Growing plants as has been done in Malaysia and Indonesia is not. The plants take about 6 months to grow, and then the neon blue green sap  that oozes can be harvested. Nickel is used in making steel, and increasingly in the making of batteries for electric vehicles and for renewable energies. Nickel is expensive and harvesting instead of mining it reduces the cost. More importantly it provides livelihood for many farmers. It can not only help the environment by avoiding mining, it can also help clean up areas harmed by the deposits of mining and other industries. The plants can extract the minerals from that soil and in time make that soil usable again. Unlike the devastation of the rain forests in Borneo or the Amazon, the plants which extract the minerals grow in grassy areas, so the consequence of destroying natural resources can be avoided. The idea of Phytomining is actually 500 years old but it took a while for it to be rediscovered and for it to become practical,  and as can be expected, it took many years for the patents to be obtained. Now that all that is behind, the process can go forward. It’s promising and it’s fascinating.  For one, the whole notion that plants can extract minerals from the soil is one of nature’s amazing  traits.

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