XIII

May 29, 2026.

We live in a constant state of flux, emerging from one season of our lives to the next. Each of these seasons holds a deep and abiding beauty, despite loss, hardship and grief. We cannot know joy without pain. We cannot appreciate peace without the turmoil of conflict and we cannot appreciate life without acknowledging the reality of death. Death comes to us all; our physical bodies will eventually return to the soil from whence they came. Acknowledging and accepting this reality fosters humility and gratitude. The spaces we inhabit, the legacies we create .. these are gifts, not rights. The earth is not ours to claim and we are blessed to walk within its landscape for but a moment in the vast expanse of time.

New life can spring from the ashes of what has come before. In fact, the more “filth” within our roots, the more lush the eventual blossom, if we persist in the light of hope and the healing balm of tears.