this past year has been full of goodness. 
i had the opportunity to fulfill a longtime writing dream. 
i traded in a lot of sleep to work out thoughts through a keyboard. 
i edited…and then i edited some more. 
i further fine-tuned (which is an ever-evolving process) healing work with others. 
i’ve made a lot of progress relating to the art of remaining near, but not too near as my kids continue to navigate their own lives and worlds. 
one of my favorite 2019 life happenings, though, as i sit here thinking about the year, has been small and simple: emory and i started spending time at the humane society. this together-time with her has been special. spending time with the animals has, of course, been a big joy, as well—but there are days that i walk away with a mind full of quiet contemplation. while humans can be skilled at hiding the heaviness of their stories, other animals often convey the truth of their experience in clear and candid ways. these unmasked tales stir up a lot of dreaming, within me, about more widespread compassion and change.
it’s easy for us to come up with quick and (maybe seemingly to some) resolute ideas for how change—any change—could come about. it’s more difficult to implement ideas in a quickly global way with quickly global outcomes. but quick change doesn’t always stick around. it can be fleeting. i’m more interested in change that is rooted, that is lasting, that is manageable, that is full of accessible formulations and unmistakable results. for many questions, there are multifold answers—and, like other larger-pic issues, i don’t know that how to go about creating and supporting more compassion and change within our communities has a clear route. but i do know this: compassion and change are things that we can each embody and embrace within our own personal lives—in the ways that we teach and treat our children, in the ways that we teach and treat ourselves, in the ways that we meet and hold the eyes and company of strangers, in the ways that we slow down and show up to witness the stories that surround us. kind, loving energy moves amidst and within—and it gets bigger and stronger and bolder and braver. 
small, loving actions. widening ripples. durable difference.
these three feel like parts of a recipe that we all can work with.
we might be one in a field of many, but our reach is vast.

“what you do makes a difference,
and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”                                                                                                                —jane goodall