Next Monday, we honor a great man who worked for racial equality and civil rights. To honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we offer the following essays by people who have been influenced and inspired by Dr. King’s work and words.

1. Standing Up for What Is Right
2. The Power of Words
3. Dr. King’s Dream
4. This Is Our Mountaintop
5. Singing the Dream

“Nothing endures but change,” said Greek philosopher Heraclitus. It’s the beginning of a new year, a fresh start, and for some, a time to make resolutions. However great or small, deciding to make changes in our lives can be powerful, and for these essayists, making a change also brought about a new core belief.

1. Right On Red
2. The Sisterhood of Roller Derby
3. Spare the Change
4. It Starts with One
5. Action Can Change Beliefs

Grace is a concept that means different things to different people. Yet, whether it’s divine or human, grace can sustain us through difficult times, or help us appreciate the simple gifts in life. Click the links below to read how grace inspired these essayists.

1. The Healing Power of Grace
2. Grace Is a Gift
3. The Grace of Survival
4. Giving Grace to the Simplest Detail
5. A Grace of Silence

Home can be the house we grew up in, the town where we live, or where our hearts are. However you define home, it is a powerful force in our lives, especially during the holidays. Click the links below to read how these essayists have been inspired by their homes around the holidays.

1. Home for the Holidays
2. Yankee Go Home
3. Remembering the Past at Waffle House
4. You Can Go Home Again
5. I’ll Definitely Be Home for the Holidays

A diagnosis of cancer can be devastating, yet the days and weeks that follow can bring a newfound clarity to one’s life. This week, we offer these essays that explore what women and families have discovered about their beliefs in the face of cancer.

1. A Left Turn to the Right Track
2. To Do Everything In My Power
3. I Live With My Diagnosis
4. The Test of My Womanhood
5. Small Acts of Courage
6. Laughter Is the Best Medicine

It’s work that can be functional, creative or meditative.  It takes patience, care and attention to detail.   Whether it’s darning an old sock, or crafting a piece of fabric art, these essayists believe in their skills with knitting and sewing needles.

1. We All Need Mending
2. Hand-Knit Socks
3. Cutting Our Grandmothers’ Saris
4. Believing In The Work Of Human Hands
5. My Personal Therapy

Whether you think life is a highway, or you prefer the road less taken, maps can help us determine where we are and how to get where we want to go. Click the links below to explore how the beliefs of these essayists have been influenced by maps, both physical and imagined.

1. There Is Such A Thing As Truth
2. Right On Red
3. I Believe In Maps
4. Lost
5. God’s Maps

The public library is so much more than a place to borrow books. For many people, it’s a window to the world. From toddler story time and book club groups, to Internet access and neighborhood events, libraries are essential for strong communities. Click the links below to read how these essayists have been inspired by the library.

1. The Library Reading Room
2. Confessions of a Bibliophile
3. I Believe in the Public Library
4. Libraries Foster Community
5. The Stillness of the Library

As America’s favorite pastime, baseball inspires devoted fans and bitter rivalries as well as life-guiding beliefs. Click the links below to read how the game has influenced the beliefs of these essayists.

1. Appreciating the Moment
2. Finding Out What’s Under Second Base
3. Little Acts of Goodness
4. The Freedom of Baseball
5. God, Family, Country and Baseball, by Ralph “Babe” Pinelli
6. All People Are My Teammates, by Bobby Doerr

We may never know the long-term effects of doing good deeds or cheering up a stranger with a small act of kindness. Whether spontaneous or planned, acts of kindness can be contagious and set off chain reactions of more people being kind to one another. We hope these essays on kindness might spark small random acts of kindness from you.

1. The Kindnesses We Give Each Other
2. The Connection Between Strangers
3. A Conduit of the Divine
4. Good Can Be as Communicable as Evil
5. Umbrella Moments