Sunday Roundup

This week we said goodbye to Mario Cuomo. He was an electrifying speaker -- not just because of his style but because of the rich language, the erudition, and especially the soul he brought to his speeches. As he demonstrated in his famous speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, shining a light on what we can do better doesn't have to be disheartening, it can also inspire. "There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don't see, in the places that you don't visit in your shining city," he said, addressing Ronald Reagan. "You ought to know that this nation is more a 'Tale of Two Cities' than it is just a 'Shining City on a Hill.'" We also bid farewell to 2014, which I'll remember as the year that awareness of how mindfulness can enhance well-being reached a tipping point. Here's to a New Year in which our inner resilience and wisdom can help us meet the challenges ahead.